


King of Beasts: Cat-TASTROPHE

by Non_Nonners_Nonna2



Series: King of Beasts [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Hybrid AU, M/M, Multi, Swearing, a/b/o dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-16 16:30:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Non_Nonners_Nonna2/pseuds/Non_Nonners_Nonna2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story where Jack gets it on with practically everyone. There's sex. Humor. More sex. Feelings and minor freak outs. Major freak outs. Cuddles and video games. The works.</p>
<p>Being in a house full of Omegas isn't as bad as, say, being roomed with another cat with an attitude problem. Just saying. Also Geoff, you really should have paid more attention during your Health 101 class, it would have saved you a lot of trouble.</p>
<p>
  <b>A/N: Now updated and polished!</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a few days since Jack has moved in to House WAFFLE-O, and a few days following him banging Gavin's brains out. Everything seems fine for now but like always, nothing stays peaceful among the Achievement Hunter boys...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A house cat has a problem and Ryan is so done with this shit.

“ _Okay_ Michael,” Ryan interjects between the tirade of cuss words, angry yelling and general rage quitting assaulting his ear. He’s twirling the pen in between his fingers, brows creased in a concerned frown. “Slow down for a moment there. I get it, you’re mad. But that doesn’t explain your call during my vacation. You want me to do _what exactly_ for you?”

The cat is huffing over the line, biting back another insult. It’s easy to imagine how the other looks at this moment: frazzled, fur frizzed and claws hanging out, mindlessly picking at whatever he can grab at. It’s going to be annoying to go back home and note what Michael has destroyed during his absence but for his sake, Ryan won’t comment about it. Instead, he lets a few beats pass as the cat struggles to calm down.

And ultimately, doesn’t succeed.

“You heard me,” Michael accuses, voice filled with venom. “I want him out. Evicted. Kicked to the curb. Shown the door. I want him out of sight and out of mind. Gone, finished, and never to be seen again!" He shouts this last part and Ryan has to pull the receiver away for a minute to wince in pain, ears flopped back. The lad, despite his age, is prone to what can only be called tantrums-Ryan is amazed that despite the many he’s had over the years, his voice hasn’t given out once. Thankfully, it’s the one explosive part out of the whole one-sided argument they’ve been having.

A seconds go by before Michael returns to a semi-civil state. He politely asks, “I don’t have to say another phrase for terminating Jack’s stay, do I?”

“Why not?” Ryan sighs. “It’s a waste of time. It’s not as if I am, you know, on _vacation_.”

Twice is the charm as the fact sinks into the frazzled feline. “Sorry man.” Michael coughs, voice lower and considerably more humble. Ryan smiles into the receiver of his phone, shaking his head. 

 

“Don’t be,” he repliesamiably. “You’re mad. You’re mad and you need to vent out your feelings. And since you’ve called me, I’m going to guess neither of the Lads can help you right now.” They are, after all, Michael’s first support. The Lads are as thick as thieves, save for the occasional multiplayer match, yet if Michael can’t turn to them...

Ryan can’t help frowning in thought as he continues on. “I’m going out on a limb here but I get the feeling that everyone has warmly accepted our new guest with open arms, you being the exception.” Michael’s snort is derisive at the comment, the bitterness palpable in his tone.

“Open arms? More like spread ass cheeks. Fucking hell Ryan, I think just about everyone here, not including me, wants to screw that dude’s brains out! Gavin slept with him on the first day.” Michael's voice hitches, snapping, “ _The first day!_ I mean, thank God Ray didn’t-kinda-sleep with him but he can’t stop making comments about this guy’s supposedly enormous dick!” There was a sound of shuffling, as if Michael was spreading his arms out in dismay. 

“ _His dick, Ryan, he’s talking about another man’s dick!_ I get a guy applauding his own size but being that invested in another dude’s dingle-dong? Who even _does_ that?”

“Geoff, Gavin and apparently Ray now,” the cow hybrid deadpans. 

Michael groans, muffled thumping telling the bull that the cat has chosen to slam his head in the nearest solid surface. He really shouldn’t let the other cause permanent brain damage to himself, so Ryan chooses remind him: “If memory serves me correct, Gavin just got off his cycle for about a week when Jack was due to arrive. He’s always a horny little bird after a heat, you know that.”

Michael growls lowly, “Don’t I know that.”

With the calm patience a hectic life has bestowed him, Ryan adds, “Then you also know that whenever Gavin is open to sex, Geoff is too. They’re pretty much on the same wavelength in that aspect.”

A long sigh is drawn. Michael’s tone is defeated as he replies, “I guess.” But regardless of how the cat is sounding more subdued, Ryan won’t stop there.

He continues to lecture, stating, “Ray, on the other hand, likes doing annoying shit. He’s gonna keep mentioning this guy’s dick until it gets old. Thankfully for us, at the rate things age for Ray, it will get old very soon.” He takes a second’s worth of pause as he thinks.

There is an exception… He amends himself by saying, “Unless Jack’s dick really is that impressive. I will need photographic evidence if that is so.”

”Oh my god Ryan, no.” Michael still sounds disturbed but it’s lighter, mock horror seeping in with some humor. Ryan shrugs and chuckles.

”I will need it. I am a man of evidence and reason. I will accept nothing less than an undoctored photo, perhaps a real sighting of this Locke Ness monster.”

”Okay, I get it!” the cat snaps, thought it’s softened loads by how loud he’s laughing. “Dude, Locke-Ness!? Oh my god, when you get back I’m going to punch you for that bad joke.” Ryan cuts back his chuckling, knowing enough is enough. 

At least they’re feeling a bit better than when Michael first called, mid-hysterics. It almost feels like nothing is wrong.

Until Michael switches gears again. 

His tone has returned to a serious kind, quiet and reserved. He doesn’t sound accusingly as much as he does sound curious. He prods, “Why did you even agree to let him to stay?”

Ryan sighs. Barely past one obstacle and the other is asking the tough questions..

Ryan isn’t good at formulating lies so he goes with the honest truth. “Because Geoff is smitten with him,” the cow answers quietly, looking down at the pad of paper he was using. On it are messy scribbles of his friends, Geoff, Michael, Gavin, Ray and himself, all with the doodles that come out of boredom. Looking at it gives him confidence as he returns to Michael, stating, “You know I love you guys very much, right?” Michael grunts noncommittally.

”Yeah..” He can’t see Michael but he can imagine the nervous, almost bashful look the other always adopts when someone uses the L-word with him. 

“And you know that more than anything, I want you guys to be happy, right?” A few moments of silence pass before Michael grunts again: an acknowledgment in his language. Ryan smiles.

”Michael, I know you don’t like this guy but you must realize: he makes Geoff happy. It’s impressive, given his history with alphas and predators that he’s in love with a lion of all people,” he says. It’s true. 

It seems almost like yesterday Ryan caught wind of that strange smell wafting from his roommate’s neck, where a fresh bite had barely been hidden by the collar of his shirt. It carried the preeminence and raw power that all alphas seem to display in the scents they emit-he’d known from the get go it wasn’t something that belonged on a guy like Geoff. He’d argued it, tried to deny it after extorting the truth from the older male. But seeing the Ram acting all flustered, red faced, tripping over his words as he tried explaining who he’s been seeing for the last few weeks had changed his mind.

Geoff was head over heels for a lion, whether Ryan liked it or not.

With a deep sigh, he returns to the present to remark, “I can’t pass judgment on a guy I haven’t met yet but I’m trying to trust him. I’m trying to give him a chance not because I’m compassionate but rather that I love Geoff that much to give it a shot. I’m not going to let my own grudges stop one of the best guys I know from being happy. Do you understand?”

Michael growls, the grumble not as threatening as his big cat cousins, yet Ryan is still cautious. Michael is the only meat eater among them, a possible killer if he wanted to be. Worse, he’s a proud cat that can’t back down from a challenge. For a split second, Ryan doesn’t want to be in Georgia-he wants to be back in Austin trying to stop a shit storm from happening.

At least Michael’s resigned sigh alleviates some worry.

”Alright,” Michael says. He’s still not happy with how things are panning out, yet he sounds like he’s open to anything. He asks, “What am I supposed to do until you get back? Fight him? Ignore him? Kick him out myself?” Ryan chuckles at the half-hearted suggestions, ears and tail flicking happily.

”Michael, I know he’s a full-blooded lion. Fighting him won’t do any good, you’re going to get your ass kicked. As for the other two options….”

-

Meanwhile, Geoff is finding himself waking up in the best way possible, a deep, rumbling in his ear while half his body is subjected to gentle tremors. Lethargic from his long sleep, it takes a moments for him to actually open his eyes, breathing in orange hairs as he wakes up. The tiny fibers tickle his nose and he snorts, mustache twitching.

Grogginess makes it difficult to remember where he is, despite feeling so cozy at the moment, and he takes a moment to blindly feel around. Wherever he is, it’s soft, warm and moving. Did I fall asleep on the washing machine again? It wouldn’t be the first time but Geoff hopes it’s one of those times that Gavin hasn’t taken his photo to post on Twitter.

 _I still say you ought to delete it when you can,_ his Ram sleepily states, only half awakened by his mental musing. Geoff has to ignore his Ram’s wise advice.

After all, it’s hard to decide on deleting a photo that is clearly unflattering but is gaining a thousand views per day.

Thankfully, it’s not one of those days where such a topic has to be hotly debated. As the last of sleep is gotten rid of, yawning and stretching against the surface he’s resting against, Geoff notices some strange things about his bed. One is that it’s entirely too warm to have been heated himself, as if he were laying by a furnace. The second is how the solid mass moves underneath him, as if it were breathing in a soothing rhythm. As confusion and blankness still blanket his mind, Geoff forces himself to sit up on his elbows and take a look. And what does he see after opening his eyes?

Jack, still asleep beside him, quietly snoring, ears flicking and purring.

How cute! He squeaks in his mind, disturbing the Ram who bleats unhappily.

Geoff clasps a hand over his mouth, trying not to literally squeal at the sight. Admittedly, this isn’t the first time he’s slept in the same bed with the other, sharing each other’s heat and on occasion, exchanging sleepy morning kisses. But this is the first time he’s been awake before Jack since they began dating-the lion hybrid must have some strict inner clock because every time that Geoff woke up in his bed, Jack was either already preparing breakfast or waking up at the same time. To the see the other like this for once is a blessing.

The ram, still sleepy and warm, urges him, _Don’t just stare at him. Snuggle into that heat, damn it._ He happily agrees. 

He nuzzles into the other’s shoulder, nosing the fine ginger hairs that make up Jack’s mane. He still smells like black raspberry, the berry tangy on his tongue but tasting oh so sweet, like the man he’s come to adore. It’s a comforting smell that nearly lulls him back to sleep…

Except that the Ram is back to being alert again. _Oh for fuck’s sake!_

What happened, He mentally has to ask.

_Idiots, we just want to go to sleep. Open your eyes and glare at them._

He doesn’t really get it but the angry bleats of his goat force him to crack open an eyelid.

Then both eyelids as his mind registers what the fuck is wrong with his dreamy little scene.

Two lads that really shouldn’t be there are well, there, keeping the Ram and therefore him awake. Geoff forgets anything having to do with sleeping in as he stares at the two lads at the edge of the bed behind Jack; they’re staring back at him, and he reacts first in surprise, his ears flicking back. When realization sinks in, his face falls into an ugly glower. 

The two idiots don’t seem to sense his frustration, only staring at the horned fellow owlishly.

Double-checking to make sure Jack is asleep, he glares at the two and mouths: "What do you want?" Ray understands before Gavin-who’s taking a bit this morning to decipher mouthed words-and immediately whacks Gavin’s shoulder. The bird squawks in shock. All three freeze and eye the predator.

Jack grumbles a bit, smiling and turns onto his side, snoring away. His tail thumps on the bed.

The horned male grunts, mouth pulled into a grimace as he pushes off the mattress, rolling off his side of the bed. Despite how his inner ram bleats in dismay at the loss of warmth, Geoff is in no forgiving mood. He throws a shirt over his boxers, storming towards the lads. They see his glower and heated glare, trying to back away from the fuming Omega. But their ears are victimized by his fingers.

The two, keeping in their shrieks and discomfort, are dragged away and outside the bedroom, into the empty hallway. Geoff lets them go then, closing the door gently behind before turning his boiling anger on the two.

”What the fuck do you two want?” he bites, toes tapping on the carpet. The lads look between each other nervously. Ray urges Gavin to speak first with a push.

The bird gives an unhappy caw as his feathers floof, looking between Ray and Geoff, looking indecisive. As Geoff’s glare worsens, he shivers and stutters. It takes a moment for him to man up and talk (mostly) right: “We have a bit of a problem, Geoffrey.”

Geoff’s mustache twitches again as he frowns.

”A problem,” he repeats. The rabbit and lark nod. “Okay, you guys have a problem. Why is it _my_ problem?”

Gavin hits Ray this time, in the ribs, the rabbit frowning as he rubs his sore spot. He flinches when Geoff’s glower is directed at him but speaks nonetheless: “Uh, well, it’s about Jack.” Geoff huffs.

”If this is about your two fucking him the other day…” Gavin perks up. His grin is broad and proud.

”Oh, did he want to go for another round?”

Geoff bleats and smacks his head. ”Fuck. No. You. Cock hungry. Bird brain,” he snarls, slapping the lark’s head with every word.

Though the other whines pitifully, gripping his smarting head, Geoff snaps, “Last time was awful, Gavin. Do you know how long it took me to let Jack know it was okay and I wasn’t going to dump him? For fucking ever, that’s what. If you can help it, don’t try screwing my boyfriend so soon.” The lark aims a dirty glare of his own at Geoff but at least it looks like he got the message, nodding his head. Ray, on the other hand, rolls his eyes.

“Sex procedures aside,” he drawls, “We have a real problem to deal with here.” The eldest blinks at him as the rabbit cocks his head, one long brown ear flopping off his shoulder. He’s calm and collected, although years of living with Narvaez has taught Geoff to look for the subtle signs of fear, be it the tension in his legs or the unease in his eyes. Both of those signs are there.

Something has the rabbit running for the hills, he realizes. Concerned, Geoff frowns.

“What is it?” he asks. The two lads exchange a look.

Gavin pipes up, “Well, you and Jack have been hanging out awhile now…but today we have no idea of what to do.” Geoff blinks again. Bewilderment colors his face.

“Huh?”

Ray’s voice nearly cracks as he jabs a finger at Gavin accusingly. “We’re out of food and Gavin says Jack’s going to eat me!” Having said this, the other takes his beanie and pulls it over his eyes, yelping, “Happy!? I’m lion chow!” Gavin rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t say he was going to eat you, you mungy prick,” the other passively replies with a shrug. “I merely said it’s _likely_ he’s going to eat you. He’s a meat eater, yeah? You’re the number one prey item here.” Ray groans.

“Dude!” he cries. “Dude no. This isn’t how I imagined my life after graduating high school. I don’t want to be lion food!” Geoff stands there, completely stunned as the two bicker in front of him.

“You didn’t plan to do much else with your life besides playing video games!” Gavin trills, glaring at the hare. “Think of your sacrifice as something noble here!” Ray lifts his beanie to glare at Gavin.

“Hey, fuck you! Playing video games is the most noble thing in the world! Besides,” he bites, glower dark and crossing his arms, “I don’t see you going ahead and sacrificing yourself for the greater good.” Gavin squawks.

“Are you mental!? I’m a bird, he wouldn’t eat me! Look at me, I barely got meat to sate him! I’d give him a mouthful of feathers instead. Hell, he’d probably eat you right after he eats me!”

“At least if I die after you, we’d die together! X-Ray and Vav, man!”

“That shouldn’t apply to becoming a bloody breakfast meal!”

“Then you shouldn’t be selling out your friend as a potential menu item!” By now, Geoff’s had enough.

 _“Will you two shut up!?”_ The two fighting boys, who had already began grabbing and shaking each other, are silenced instantly. They seem almost smaller in comparison to the eldest, the older Omega towering over them to give both daggers from his eyes.

His face is dark with irritation, mustache twitching downwards as he snarls, “Did you two wake me up from the greatest sleep ever just because you think my boyfriend is going to eat you?”

The two exchange another miserable look before nodding in tandem. Gavin unhelpfully adds, “You’re not on the menu because you’re his boyfriend. Figure he’d eat you as a last resort.” Geoff growls.

”You two are major idiots. Major fucking idiots. Honestly, you’re acting like bigots right now.” The insults sting as the two wince, and Geoff doesn’t let up as he continues, “Hunters do not eat us. Remember?”

Gavin opens his mouth yet Geoff interrupts him, snapping, “Hunters don’t eat us, Gav! They haven’t in hundreds of years. Plus, even if they did there are laws now: no unlawful killings. You get that?” In response Gavin mutely shuts his trap, nodding slowly.

Then it’s Ray’s turn to protest. Ray tries to say, “But Jack is-” before Geoff raises his hand, shutting him up too.

”No, no and more no. Jack is not a killer. You two can already see what a huge kitten he is, right?” They thinks for a moment and hesitantly nod. Geoff smirks. “See? If you two can understand that, then why bother panicking? It’s clear he’d never hurt a fly. He’s like.. a bigger Michael, with more fur and less rage quit.”

”Excuse me?” 

Said cat of the hour is standing about behind the three, having just arrived from the kitchen. He carries a steaming mug of coffee, the tendrils of steam wafting up to his face as he casually takes a sip. He’s eying them, ears forward and tail twitching.

He finishes a sip of the brew before reiterating, “Are you guys talking about me?” Geoff smiles at his arrival. He holds out his arm, coaxing the other forward.

“Michael! Just the guy I wanted to see. Can you help me with these morons right now?” Michael looks slightly displeased, probably thinking of a million and two things he would rather be doing. Of course, let it be said that Michael loves and respects Geoff to the point of kissing his ass, so he does as requested. He purrs lightly as Geoff takes him into a one arm hug, stroking at the russet curls sticking out of his beanie while addressing the other lads.

“Michael here is a meat eater,” he lectures them, giving them the stink eye. “And yet, you two are completely comfortable with him! You three make up the Lads here and never, in the five or so years you’ve lived here, have you once complained about Michael eating you. Theoretically, he could eat you if he so desired.” He looks to Michael for confirmation. “Am I right, Mike?”

Michael shrugs as he drinks his coffee once more. “I’d ask you to grill ‘em in your patented Ramsey style, but yeah,” he quips. Geoff chuckles.

”I’d do it for you, Mike. I’d pull out all the stops to make it a dinner you’d never forget. You know that,” he answers. Michael purrs and nods. Still, Geoff is serious with the other two, still tapping his foot on the ground irritably. 

He tells them, “See? If Michael could and would eat you two, why are you comfortable with him? Because you know, deep down, he’d never intentionally hurt you. I want you two to extend the same kind trust towards Jack, alright? He’d never hurt you either.”

Ray is still nervous. He chews on his lip with his big front teeth, grabbing the edge of his ear to play with: a clear sign of his upset. “But Jack’s a lion,” he quietly argues. “He’s bigger and meaner than a house cat. How do we really know he’d never hurt us?” Gavin mirrors the same disquiet, wings closing in on himself, peeking back through the mass of brown feathers at Geoff uneasily. Geoff sighs.

Interestingly enough, it’s not him who comes to Jack’s rescue but Michael.

The cat hybrid lazily eyes the other two lads with a propped brow, hand in his pocket and the other still holding his mug of coffee. “There's never a ‘never’,” he quips. “Just a maybe. Maybe one day he’ll accidentally slip and knock into you guys. Maybe he’ll spill some hot water and someone gets a burn. Maybe one day you’ll trip over him when he’s napping in the sun and get a bruise on your knee. There’s only maybe because that’s all there is. Getting hurt is inevitable: him going out of his way to murder you in your sleep is not. He doesn’t seem like that sort of guy.”

The other two hybrids are staring at Michael incredulously now as Geoff says, “I couldn’t have put it better myself.” With a clap of his hands, he states, “Well, now that that’s taken care of, will you two stop bawling over who gets eaten first?” The two guiltily look back at Geoff and nod. Michael just smirks.

“Wait, this was over whether or not he’d eat you two?” The lads nod. With a laugh, Michael remarks, “Guys, you’d never fill his belly. Too scrawny, not enough meat. Anyway, set him out some fish or something. He’d probably dig that.” Geoff tilts his head.

“Fish? Are you sure he’d like that?” Michael grins.

“He’s a feline,” he replies smoothly. “Of course he’d like it. If not, I can always have his share.”

Ray frowns. “I thought fish makes you-“

“Shut up, Ray.”

-  
By the time that Jack is rousing from his sleep, the smell of cooked fish is hitting his nose, making him purr.

 _Delicious, yummy fish…_ his lion states, the idea of eating overriding its natural need to sleep.

As a cat and a man that enjoys seafood, he’d be an idiot to not investigate the source of the scent, rolling out of bed to land silently on the floor. Of course, in a half-awake state, Jack can’t tell he’s on all fours, clamoring over to the door to jiggle the door knob open and slip outside.  
Ray and Gavin are sitting on the couch near the hallway entrance, eyes wide as they see the large cat easily stalk past them on his paws. He ignores them, his whiskers twitching as he goes past, eyes closed and humming in delight. 

The man is in auto-pilot as the lion takes over, instincts pulling him in the right direction to where breakfast is being made. Not even Ray’s dismissive remark of, "What a weirdo" can stop him from hunting the fishy source.

And like any good kitten, he sits on his haunches, still mostly asleep as Geoff works the fillets on the girdle, their oils popping and releasing more fumes of well-cooked salmon. Even Michael, the one who suggested the meal, is hungrily eying the food, tail flopping from side to side, chin resting on the counter as the rest of his body tenses for a pounce. Geoff smiles kindly at the cat, shaking his head at the cute display. Of course, in the corner of his eye, he notices the bigger cat.

Happily, he calls out, “Morning, Jack.”

Jack silently sits there, eyes closed and purring.

The lack of response causes the other male to turn around, observing the seated lion and his wagging tail. Bemusement hits him-What’s wrong with Jack? It takes a minute to figure things out. Noting how the others eyes’ are refusing to open and he’s still purring, almost like a motorcycle’s engine, Geoff has to hold back a laugh.

”Aww,” he coos. “Does my kitty want some fish?” Jack rumbles his approval as a younger, sharper meow joins him. Geoff looks over at Michael, who is giving him hopeful eyes. Can I have fish too? he’s asking. Geoff can’t bite back the helpless giggle and the red coloring his cheeks.

”Okay, both my cats want fish. Alright.”

It’s pretty much done cooking at this point and Geoff wastes no time in grabbing plates to serve them. It takes a moment for him to wrangle Jack up onto a counter stool they have but when the lion hybrid hops up with the finesse of any feline, Geoff can’t help but wonder when he’s become a lion tamer in a circus. They other two lads are watching from the kitchen doorway, quiet as the only two predators of the household are fed.

And as the two dive onto their meals, ignorant of using utensils or napkins, the ram remembers back to Health 101 and the few times he ever paid attention. 

Lesson 1: Predators are always more feral when waking up and eating their first meal. That much is obvious, of how the men dig into their share of fish, sharp claws tearing off long strips to place and savor in their mouths. 

Lesson 2: Hunters, Felines especially, can become territorial when feral, even with other animals they should recognize. That is proven right as Michael polishes his fish off in seconds and turns on the plate that Jack has yet to finish.

Geoff realizes it's a bad idea long before Michael has the guts to reach forward for a piece, the cat inside him yowling for more food. Jack, awake and munching away, hisses lowly-the very sound of the angry apex hunter, despite coming from a sweet heart like Jack, sends shivers down everyone’s spines. But Michael is too proud to back down and growls himself, sounding no less threatening as his hair rises with his tail erect and fuzzy.

That’s when Geoff notices that Jack’s eyes, which are usually a gentle hazel color, are taking on a different hue.

Jack’s eyes are golden, much like Michael’s are now, a sure sign of their feral sides being in control. They slant into a pissed glare, daring the younger of the two to keep up his antics.

Despite being mad about Michael’s obviously defiant hiss, there’s a part of Jack’s lion that’s curious: Geoff can tell from body language, as the lion’s tail is perked, the hairy tip hooked forward. It’s a far cry from how Michael’s body is rigid, back slightly arched with his tail fixed low.

But when the younger feline sees that tail hooked upward, it doesn’t give him a reason to calm down. Instead he growls again, lower this time, and spits at Jack, ears fully flopped back. He even taps his claws on the kitchen counter, as if to intimidate the other.

But Jack’s tail only rises happily and his mane begins to poof in excitement. The glaring is gone. Now, he’s happy and playful.

Is Jack happy about getting rises out of Michael? Geoff wonders. He wouldn’t be the first. Everyone in the house likes annoying the Jersey cat in some way or another. Even the other lads are chuckling at the display, chortling over over how their fellow lad is still so easy to make angry.  
But a pissed off Michael is a bad Michael. Before the ram can intervene, the other cat yowls and

**SLAP!**

strikes Jack across the cheek. All three herbivores are shell shocked, openly gaping at what’s occurred. Oh god, Jack is going to kill him for that!

Or not.

Because at that moment of being hit, Jack blinks. His ears, pointed forward, hint at no resentment or impending attack. Instead, Jack raises his paw, slowly from the table top. And 

**THWAP!**

His slap would certainly hit a little harder, as he is a big cat here. Michael’s meow is feeble as he sprawls backward, dazed as he hits the floor. Gavin’s shriek of, “My boi!” is loud enough to make everyone wince, a flurry of feathers and Ray quickly trailing behind all anyone can see.  
Michael is a rag doll on the ground, still stunned by what he got. As Gavin and Ray worry over him, Geoff turns around in time to be confronted by Jack, who has eaten the last of his fish. With a grin that can only be described as lion-equse, he pushes the plate towards his partner. More please?

Geoff sighs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or: the Intoxicating and Rather Amusing Effects Fish Has On Feral Felines

The hour following the kitchen scene has to be the strangest hour yet. Neither cat is quite out of their feral state, sated by their plates of fish and content to lounging around the house. Or, in Jack’s case, making his way around and.. *ahem* _marking_ his property. It’s not urine, thank god, because no one wants to clean up piss but it’s an unusual way of marking nevertheless. Ray catches Jack doing it first on the tree out back in their yard, closest to the fence.

“Your boyfriend is humping the backyard tree,” he says kindly to Geoff. The ram double takes and spit his beer onto a disgruntled Gavin. As the bird chirps unhappily at the mess, Geoff is staring large dinner plates at the hare. 

“Say what!?”

True to the Puerto Rican’s word, the lion is indeed dry-humping the tree. The thin ash tree shakes under the force of his heavy scenting, his hairy chin scraping the bark and picking up debris. Leaves fall from the shuddering tree, littering the ground at the base of the trunk. Gus, dear neighbor and friend Gus Sorola, is watering his azaleas behind the chain link fence where Jack is. He’s staring at the display with slight interest and a gracious amount of disgust.

Upon seeing the owners of the neighboring home stumbling outside to see the feline claim his property, the grouchy alpaca points at the show.

Gus demands, “House guest?” Geoff replies with a sorry smile.

“Boyfriend, actually. Uh, that’s Jack. If Jack were sensible right now, I’d introduce you two.” The alpaca scoffs.

“No thanks, Ramsey. I don’t wanna know your circle of friends.” Such a remark causes Gavin to shoot a curious grin over the ram’s shoulder, his smile absolutely cheeky.

“But Gus, you _work_ with Geoff! You already know his circle of friends.” The Hispanic man sputters, hose spraying around water as he begins to wave his hands dismissively.

“Shut up, shut up, I said I don’t want to know! Jesus Christ Gavin!”

Any more jibes at the alpaca’s expense has to be left for later, as Jack begins to still. The group watches as the lion gives the bark a few cautious sniffs, curling his lips as he breathes in. It smells good enough for him, it seems, since his tail is wagging happily.

Content with his marking, Jack pushes off the wooden trunk, his feline legs turning him to face the opposite direction, towards the other fences. Whoosh! He’s gone in a second, a little dust trail following behind him. No one had time enough to blink before the cat vanished before their eyes.

With a unanimous groan, the party of three darts after him.

Naturally, no one but Gus notices Michael running up on all fours seconds behind them. He circles the ash tree once before sitting on his haunches, madly scratching at the bark with his claws. Gus winces at the grating noise it makes for a few seconds, watching as Michael makes ribbons out of the poor stock before bouncing off the maimed wood, rocketing off after the trio. He barely pays the alpaca any mind, too busy catching up to the others.

All Gus can do in light of this strange scene is grunt. “Tch, _neighbors_.”

-

In the meantime, Arryn is sitting in her tree swing, watching Jack getting cozy with the custom fountain House WAFFLE-O sports on their grounds with curiosity. She doesn’t recognize the guy and knows she’s never seen him around before-after all, how many gingers has she known to live in House WAFFLE-O? But at the same time, she doesn’t care to introduce herself, as he’s much too distracted in rubbing rather obscenely against the Minecraft-inspired statue standing in the fountain.

The raven inside her is cackling happily. House WAFFLE-O sure does gets the weird ones…

Miles, having long since abandoned his squeaky toy, turns on her, amazement in his eyes. His wagging brown tail kicks up grass blades and dirt as he whines, confused. “Is that a freaking lion over there?” He asks. She nods.

“Looks like it,” she answers. “It seems he also has a fine taste for game art, if the way he’s grinding against that fountain is any indication.” Miles states a soft “Ah”, as the WAFFLE-O boys come running right up behind the busy lion. 

Arryn grins at them, waving them over with a warm, “Hey boys! Good morning!”

The others are out of breath to properly say hello, all save for Ray whose body is made for running. He waves back to her, calling out, “Hey Arryn. Hi Miles!” The dog hybrid barks back, overjoyed he’s been noticed.

”Hi guys!” he barks at them. Common sense abandons him as the pup eagerly runs up to the fence, forgetting the existence of the big cat barely a few feet. Even as Jack warningly growls at the dog to move back, Miles Luna is unfazed. Instead he grips the edge of the fence, earnestly asking, “Is that your lion? Is he a friend? Friend? Friend?” 

Geoff sighs, exhausted.

“He’s my boyfriend. That’s Jack.” Before he can explain that Jack isn’t in the right mindset, the dog is already barking pleasantries at the large cat.

“Hi Jack! Hi Jack! I’m Miles Luna, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” Jack blinks gold orbs at the excited canine, visibly puzzled. He’s stopped marking his territory as Miles keeps giving him those cute puppy dog eyes, his tail hanging loosely behind him. The scene is silent for a whole minute.

And then, instead of getting aggressive or ignoring the hyper canine, Jack begins to mutter. It’s something that sounds like a strangled meow and “Hello”, as if Jack was snapping out of his feral mode. Yet Geoff can’t have a moment to be hopeful.

It takes barely two seconds before the lion is back, disinterested with the statue and taking off again. Geoff groans, stamping his foot once before giving chase. Gavin flaps after him, then Ray, who waves goodbye before bouncing away.

Miles turns on Arryn once more. “That was strange” he says, looking a touch dazed. “I had no idea that lion hybrids could meow.”

Arryn almost agrees but the sight of Michael hurrying up onto the fountain stops her. Both she and Miles wordlessly watch as the Jersey cat starts to rub himself aggressively on the artwork, grumbling. The other hybrids are quite taken aback by the strange behavior, though they don’t spare him a smile when the cat hybrid stops to meow at them.

Zoom! He’s done with re-marking his stuff and takes off in the same direction the other four went. Miles makes a curious whine as he looks to his friend for answers. Arryn only shakes her head.

House WAFFLE-O really does get the weird ones!

-

After a long chase around the household, watching Jack mark everything from the couch, the TV and the Tower of Pimps that proudly sits outside, the others come to an exhausted heap by Michael’s room, where Jack is sitting by the door. The lion sniffs carefully around the door’s edges, probably picking up the fellow feline scent. But Gavin can’t hold back his concern any longer.

”What is he doing!?” he demands the others, agitation ruffling his wings. “He’s bloody dragged us all over the damn house, humping everything in sight! Geoff, he’s your boyfriend: what’s he doing?”

The ram can only shrug.

”I don’t know,” he admits. “Really, I don’t. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him like this.” The hare of the group cocks his head, dismayed.

”He’s feral right now, isn’t he?” he asks. The others nod-it seems like it. But there’s something wrong and all three can tell. Ray verbally confirms this as he retorts, “Feralism in hybrids should only last for twenty minutes, max! What’s up with him?”

Who knows?

The lion is pacing on all fours, his lips curled as he snuffs the floor and walls. His tail is hooked, round ears facing forward, his whole body screaming curiosity. But the old adage is true.

Curiosity kills the cat.

Sensing that the room isn’t marked as his, Jack naturally ambles forward to begin marking. He gets as far as the threshold of the door, left paw coming up to push the door open. Then BAM! A shadow bounds from the hallway to slam onto his back!

The trio is frozen in shock as the lion roars in pain, slumping forward from the sudden attack. Michael is hissing and spitting worse than any alley cat ever seen, his sharpclaws sinking into his foe’s shoulder blades. 

“Michael!” Gavin gasps, coming out of his stupor in a rage. “No, no, stop that! Lay off Jack, you naughty thing!” Michael hisses at the bird, his nails going further in with the weight of his forearms. Jack groans, shaking to jostle the other off. It doesn’t work.

Ray tries next, calmly addressing the pissed off kitten. “Hey now,” he says gently, “that’s not nice! Stop clawing up Jack’s back, Michael. You’re better than this.” But Michael is still growling, ears back, tail straight out and glaring eyes dilated.

As everyone knows though, from the very beginning of this tale, it’s a rule that you don’t fuck with lions. The reason is simply observed.Though Michael had the upper hand at first with his ambush, Jack has the better hand to deal with little pests. He rises back on his haunches and suplexes the other onto the ground, letting out a feral roar as the cat underneath him yowls in pain! 

They sprint from each other, Jack in front of the other men as Michael takes up the other side. They walk, stop and walk in circles, eying each other. Each is growling and puffing their fur, daring the other to go first. The lads watch helplessly at the display.

Meanwhile, Geoff mutters a cuss, pulling out his phone. Ray spies him doing so and uneasily asks, “What are you doing?”

”Calling the expert,” Geoff replies. His thumb hits the speed dial, waiting for a familiar voice to pick up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff calls the only expert he knows. Ryan cannot have a decent vacation, it seems.

Ryan never expected his phone to start ringing in the middle of his lecture about PC gaming but when it does, he has to answer it. He says a polite, “Excuse me a second” to Barbara and Josh, who merely nod at him and continue a quiet discussion. A look at the caller ID says GEOFF; a worrisome feeling rising in his gut. But as the tune of “Drunken Lullabies” continues to filter through the calm open-air restaurant, Ryan has to do the right thing and pick up.

Answering the call, he mutters a calm, “Hello?” A gruff voice cuts him off.

“Tell me how to fix this. Now.”

There’s a screech, some tearing in the background and Gavin’s helpless cry of _"Not the game case!"_ Ryan frowns.

“Uh… Hello to you too, Geoff. What happened?” The ram grunts as another crash sounds off, followed by Gavin’s squawk and Ray’s sorrowful cry of _"Por que!?!?"_

“Bad things, Ryan. Terrible things. I need your help.” A crash and Ryan winces-things really must be going to shit as Geoff whines. “Damn it, things were fine this morning and then the idiots go feral and are attacking each other!” **Feral?** Ryan sighs, carding a hand through his hair.

“Okay, you need my help. I get that but you need to explain things to me, Geoff.” Geoff whines and Ryan cuts him off: “No whining! I can’t help you unless I know what’s going on! Now, judging from the cat like shrieks I hear, I assume that Michael is the one fighting someone?” Geoff grunts an affirmative.

“He’s fighting Jack. They’re both feral right now.” Before Ryan can inquire, he interrupts him with, “I know they are! I saw their eyes, they’re straight up feral. Doesn’t that shit last up to like, 20 minutes or something in us hybrids? Because it’s been an hour!” Ryan groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. Josh shoots him a worried glance, though the cow waves off his concern with a sorry smile.

“In most cases, yes,” he explains slowly. “Feralism happens because the human half is unable to keep the animal half in check. Give or take 20 minutes is how long it takes for the human to regain control. However, it’s common for feralism to continue beyond the time limit if there are factors that keep the animal half of the brain in hyperawareness, usually due to some stimulation of the amygdala.” Geoff bleats.

“The stim-who-what of whatzy-what-what?”

“The amy-Jesus fuck, the part of the brain involved in instincts!” Ryan snaps. “I really wish you’d pick up a book sometime, it would serve you well. Anyway, all that means is some instinct is keeping both felines in control. Take away the need and they should revert to normal.” Geoff hums, no doubt stewing in thought.

“Okay. That’s simple enough to do. But what instinctual need has them both going?” Ryan taps his fingers on the table, frowning as he considers it.

“It could be a number of things, Geoff. They’re cats, they need to have things a certain way.” A crash, howl and it’s reasonable the lads are either crying over broken stuff or scurrying to hurry out of the path of destruction. Ryan is wincing as he orders, “Tell me what happened this morning, from the start. Maybe something you did triggered them.”

“Alright. Well, me and Jack spent the night going at it like horny bastards as we performed oral-“

“After that, you jackass. What did you do when you woke up?”

“Spoilsport.” The ram takes a few moments to collect himself before confessing, “I woke up first because Ray and Gavin had concerns about Jack and his diet. Michael was awake, told the idiots off and suggested fish for breakfast. I cooked some, Jack came out bed to have some and the next thing I know, they’re all over each other like..well cats!” Ryan is silent.

“Michael suggested fish for breakfast?” Geoff pauses.

“Yes?”

“And you _trusted_ him?" The goat bleats angrily.

“Was I not supposed to!?”

Ryan throws his arms out as he snaps, “Yes, you weren’t supposed to!” Geoff utters a confused ‘oh’ as Ryan continues, “Fish is the number one way to get a domestic cat feral, and fresh meat is a way to rouse a lion! You gave it to them, in the _morning _, when they’re more likely to become feral! You idiot, did you read the notice I left you at all!?”__

__“There was a notice?” is all the confirmation Ryan needs for the cow hybrid to slam his head on the table. Barbara and Josh exchange looks of worry to each other and Ryan as the cow moos sadly._ _

__“I hate you. I hate you so much right now. I hate you so much that I almost want to hang up on you. However I fear for the state of my stuff, so I have to help you out.” Geoff chuckles, embarrassed despite how the fighting is still going on his side of things._ _

__“Sorry Rye. Anyway, what do I do?” A beat and he adds on, “What can I do? Ryan, I’m scared that they can hurt each other. I mean, Michael can be a vicious guy for a house cat and Jack is a powerful hybrid, despite his cute little pudge.” The cow sighs._ _

__“Normally I’d suggest waiting it out, given that there’s no way to interrupt a feral state without drugs,” the cow replies, “but I know that’s not an option, at least right now. The best idea is to get them to stop fighting.”_ _

__“How!?”_ _

__“Use your head, Ramsey! They’re cats, they’re going to keep fighting until something or someone stops them, or at least until one gives up.” There’s a silence that follows and Ryan almost feels worried that Geoff is breaking down, mentally so._ _

__“Okay. I’ll do that.”_ _

__“Huh?”_ _

__“I’m using my head!” cries the ram. Then the realization sinks in._ _

__“No, no Geoff, that’s not what I-!”_ _

__But there’s only stomping, a loud roaring sound, a crash, then silence. The phone goes dead, the buzz of a cut line left ringing in Ryan’s ear. The cow pulls the cell away from his head with an aghast look, skin pale. Josh blinks at the phone and the frightened bovine._ _

__“What happened?” he asks around his pulled rib sandwich. Ryan shakes his head. He puts the cell in his pocket, turning back to his own meal of mixed veggies, looking still distressed._ _

__“Cats are fighting at home,” he replies, picking up his fork to eat. “Jesus, of all the times for this to happen, it has to be when I’m on vacation!” Barbara, ever optimistic in these situations, twitches her long, floppy ears, moving her head slightly so that her large antlers bumps Ryan’s affectionately._ _

__“Poor Rye-Rye,” she sings. “Worried about the cat- _tastrophe_ going on back home!” Josh rolls his eyes while Ryan grimaces._ _

__“Goddamn it, Barb.”_ _

__-_ _

__Michael is slumped against the wall, utterly dazed. Disbelief is leaving him limp despite his smarting arms, his fur standing on edge as his mind whirls and attempts putting things together. What he comes up with isn’t much._ _

__Geoff just rammed us._ _

__Geoff just rammed us._ _

__

__Geoff just rammed us flat onto our asses and that asshole is happy!?_ _

__Sure enough, even if the lion is confused from the sudden entry of an angry goat knocking them backwards, he’s nuzzling the other’s hip, purring contently. In the depths of his feral state, his nose still works- he remembers Geoff’s nutty honey scent and knows who he is. But even the king of the animal kingdom is frightened when the enraged lamb turns on him, stamping his foot._ _

__"You!"_ _

__Jack meows lamely, looking hurt by the harsh address. Geoff’s hand lightly slaps his head before it fists, his index finger waggling. “Bad boy! Bad, bad boy!” Jack meows again. “No, don’t give me that! You’ve been a very naughty boy, Jack!” Michael huffs, straightening himself and licking his paw._ _

__Serves the hairy beast right, he thinks proudly. Geoff glares at him though, making the mixed cat wince inwardly._ _

__“You’re not any better!” he snaps. “Bad Michael, starting fights with Jack!” Michael yowls-it’s not his fault the lion is so annoying! But even if Geoff could understand his feral language, he’s not buying the act. “You both are terrible today. Absolutely terrible.”_ _

__The lion must want to appeal to the ram for forgiveness, licking the other’s hand, ears drooped. He’s eyes are watery, peering up at Geoff pleadingly. But Geoff pulls his hand away with a stern glower. “No. Stop that. I don’t care how adorable that is, I’m mad at you.” Jack curls in on himself, head hanging low._ _

__Michael can’t make a move for leniency either, as the Lads suddenly shadow him. Ray has his arms crossed, beating a rhythm with his foot on the carpet. Gavin towers over him, hands on hips, wings adding intimidation by puffing angrily. Michael cowers and meows._ _

__“Bad boy,” Gavin says, his scowl harsh. Michael winces and turns his head slowly towards Ray, knowing the other lad is glowering too._ _

__“Very bad boy,” Ray agrees. He is brimming with disappointment. The Jersey lad looks between them, seemingly lost that neither is on his side._ _

__What did I do? I just asserted my dominance..right?_ _

__Whatever he’s done, no one in the trio wants to deal with it. Geoff grabs Jack’s ear and gives it a tug, the lion groaning as he’s led away. “You Lads keep Michael away from the living room,” he orders over his shoulder, retreating with the shamed cat to said area. “I’ve got to wait until Jack gets his senses back, maybe figure out why he’s still feral after having fish. Take Michael to the Lad Pad to do the same.” The boys nod, saluting the older male. Michael blinks._ _

__Wait, so is he in trouble? He can faintly recall times when he’s gone feral and Ryan has gotten the spray bottle-but the cow hybrid isn’t there to be mad at him and Geoff is busy with the other cat. Were they letting him off easy? Before he can figure out an answer, Ray is the one to grab him around the midsection and drag him back. “C’mon you. Lad Pad we go.”_ _

__Michael growls, his tail puffing. He didn’t do anything! There was absolutely no reason to be taking him away, watching Geoff’s form retreat towards the living room, lion at his side. But the Lads don’t care as Ray drags him off. Gavin shakes his head._ _

__”You really screwed up this time, my boi,” he says wisely, following the rabbit and the dragged-along cat to the other end of the house. “You gaffed up bad.”_ _

__Just how bad he’s ‘gaffed’ up things has yet to be seen._ _

__-_ _

__A few minutes later the three are banging down the door to the sanctuary of the Lad Pad, letting their feral kitten in first before entering themselves. Gavin, the last one in, does his customary check around the door, making sure nobody is around to disturb them, his hand pushing back Michael’s head when he tries to peek outside with him. With things clear in the hallway Gavin closes the door, the tumblers locking with a solid click!_ _

__But even if they’re far away from any possible troubles, Michael knows the storm has yet to pass. Gavin is glowering at him and Ray has the darkest frown he’s seen in months, both laid back boys clearly upset with him. He shrinks on himself, futilely trying to hide from their disappointed staring. On his hands and knees, he crawls to the bathtub, ears pressed flat on his hair, arms moving to tuck beneath him as he takes a cautious seat on the available cushions. His tail thwaps the pillows, still agitated as he gives the others a sorry look. I’m really sorry guys.  
They at least seem to get the memo. The other two lads sigh at the sight, deciding to plop themselves down on either side of the cat._ _

__Now it might be strange that they’re sitting in a bathtub at the moment, trying to ignore the third of their party, yet it isn’t as strange as one thinks. The Lad Pad is nothing special, aside from the fact it’s not a Pad at all-it’s a bathroom converted into a personal room. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision where, when the home was still being remodeled, the boys came to believe they were in desperate need of a room to themselves. Ryan coveted the office with his 3-D printer-Geoff commandeered the kitchen and in addition, the cellar with their personal bar. As such, the boys were eager to have something of their own, something small but suited their needs for gaming, relaxation and binge snacking._ _

__Thus, as the house was being finished, not much was left for them to claim-that is, besides an old bathroom nobody was going to use in the back of the house. It lacked a working toilet but had a standing sink cabinet and a dug-in bathtub bordering on a small swimming pool. The pipes-save for the sink’s water-were cut though it still got electricity. Would they take it?_ _

__Hell yes. Hence, the Lad Pad was born._ _

__The tub is filled with blankets, pillows and whatnot-courtesy of Gavin’s insistence to sit his ass on clouds-to make a makeshift nest. It’s plush and warm, practically perfect for the midday nap or for laying on their back/stomaches during a marathon of gaming. The toilet missing from the room, having been ripped away during renovations. It has been replaced by a movable fridge, filled with the nasty snacks that Geoff always tried to keep away from their palates, including a 5 pound gummy bear. The sink is expanded to accommodate more supplies-of the gaming and Lad kind-while darling Michael did his best to rewire the entire room to support their gaming habits. The tile was gutted to put in lush carpet-the ceiling lights were kept but rarely used during their midnight playing hours. So in the end, the Lad Pad is their hiding place and place of rest, especially when the going gets tough. Especially now, when the ram is fuming in the front room and their trying to get Michael back into a sensible state of mind._ _

__Ray reaches out first to pet his tense back-Michael purrs at the contact, relaxing underneath the familiar weight. Ray’s voice is still stern as he says, “You’re such a stupid cat when you’re feral. I wish you’d stop looking so cute when you act sorry for your actions.” Michael meows, butting the hand that crawls its way up to his hair, rustling his russet brown curls. The bird beside them hums._ _

__”Definitely gotta stop,” Gavin agrees, giving into petting their Jersey friend, scratching underneath his chin just the way he likes it. Michael practically melts underneath his ministrations, unconsciously chasing after the lark’s fingers when he dares to pull away. The Brit leans down to give him a gentle peck on the brow, jokingly whining, “Our Michael is too cute. Silly kitten, making a ruckus and trouble this morning. Were you lonely or just wanting to be a naughty boy?”  
The Jersey cat meows, deeply this time, sinking against the pillows and the warm bodies caging him. His tail swishes over Ray’s lap, the rabbit plucking at the tip of red fur stripped with brown markings. “Probably both,” the rabbit states._ _

__Gavin raises a brow. “What makes you say that, X-Ray?” he starts, head cocked to the side. The other shrugs._ _

__”You know Michael, he gets jealous of new people easily.” Michael chirps, indignant. “Well, it’s true, you puss-puss. Remember when we first met Lindsay at the arcade for laser tag and you nearly tore her face off? You’re lucky she thought you were play fighting. If she hadn’t, she would have taken your bad attitude for a declaration of war.” The lark nods in agreement.  
”I remember that. Remember when Dan came over for a visit that one time, during the pool party?” The men shiver._ _

__”I will never in my life be able to eat asparagus again,” the hare grumbles, earning a bemused look from Gavin._ _

__”You never even liked them much in the first place. Why whine about it now?” The Puerto Rican shrugs._ _

__”I could’ve grown to like ‘em-get an adult sense of taste just like Geoff tells me to. But after that debacle with Dan, the veggies and this squirt-” patting Michael’s rump, to which the cat fondly regards the butt pat, “-I will never be able to look at them without flinching. It happens with all the food that gets ruined by you guys.” Gavin takes a minute to process this, slowly nodding as it sinks._ _

__”But then what about the cucumbers?”_ _

__”What about them?” the hare asks Suspicion is laced in his tone, unable to recall what the other means. it doesn’t help Gavin merely gestures with his hand:_ _

__”You know, the cucumbers.”_ _

__Of course his face remains blank long enough for Gavin to dramatically sigh. The Brit turns to the side, takes a couple of sodas waiting on the tub’s rim and hands a coke to Ray. The other accepts it and they pop the cans open with ease._ _

__In answer to his last question, Gavin takes a sip of Red Bull before stating, “Y’know, the cucumbers. The ones we used in that video we filmed.” Exactly three moments pass._ _

__Ray flushes a bright, bright red._ _

__"Dude!"_ _

__”You did some real cool things with them,” the bird recalls, taking a long gulp of his drink as pink tinges his cheeks. Michael purrs, remembering the same instance. As if it wasn’t enough, Gavin adds on, “you still eat them too.” Ray shudders._ _

__”We don’t talk about the cucumbers, not now, not ever.”_ _

__”We just have.”_ _

__”Fucking hell, Vav, I like cucumbers, I want to eat cucumbers, don’t remind me about the stuff I’ve done when I was stuck in heat!” Gavin only laughs at how flustered the other has become, Michael joining his snickering with soft little hisses. Ray is absolutely scandalized, looking between the two underneath a heavy blush. “You two are assholes.”_ _

__”You love us!”_ _

__”I wonder why, sometimes. I wonder why.”_ _

__-_ _

__Meanwhile, the situation isn’t so bad in the living room though it's none the less tense. Jack, still in lion mode, has figured out Geoff is nowhere close to forgiving him; he sulks in a corner, huddled in a big ball of fur, watery eyes pleading for some sort of redemption. Not like he’s gonna get it anytime soon._ _

__It’s partly because Geoff is too busy on the laptop, talking to the other person. “So, it’s like…not permanent, right?”_ _

__Griffin shrugs in her computer chair, tapping her fingers on the carved desk as she addresses her longtime friend. “Nah,” she replies. “I mean, it’ll last for awhile, especially if Michael’s in the same boat but if they can calm down enough, it should pass. Longest any feralism has gone was about, what, a week? That was with a bunch of heat-ridden Omega snakes trying to break a world record though.”_ _

__She smiles when Geoff minutely shivers at ‘snakes’, rolling her eyes._ _

__“Oh Geoff, they were harmless Narcisse snakes. They have orgies all the time. There’s nothing to be freaked out about.” The other goat still shivers._ _

__“I don’t wanna think about them, okay? Just their scales and hissing and wiry bodies slithering every-Uuuugh…” She laughs at his high-pitched whine, shaking her head as he gives a full bodied shudder, the picture of disgust on his face._ _

__“You’re something else, Geoff. My weird ram friend.” He scoffs, shaking off her playful jibbing. But she at least calms down to remind him, “Your friends will be fine eventually. It’s hard being a predator with instincts that are easily piqued. We grassy folk don’t have the same problems-we go feral, we just wanna butt our heads against things.”_ _

__Geoff crosses his arms across his chest, leaning forward to give Griffin a knowing look. “What about Gavin trying to hunt Kerry that one time?” he asks. She shrugs helplessly._ _

__“Okay, so the twink thinks he’s a chicken hawk while he’s feral. Gavin is a weird kid, alright? The main point here is that hunters got the bad deal when it comes to feralism. We herbivores lucked out. Our sides are easier to control and easier to get out of being feral. A predator doesn’t have that sort of luxury.”_ _

__“I wonder why?” Geoff says, stroking at his mustache. “I never really got the concept of feralism anyway. Like, it’s our animals being in control, I understand that but.. Why? Why does it happen?” Griffin shrugs._ _

__She answers, “If I knew that answer I would win a Nobel Prize. No one knows why feralism happens, it just does. Some say it's because our animals are trying to protect us. Some say that it gives them a chance to be free. Nobody really knows.”_ _

__Geoff sighs, sinking into the couch cushions. He eyes Jack, who’s still in Sulk City, before turning to Griffin. “It sounds lame that we have this mode and we barely know why we have it. I mean, shouldn’t we have figured out why feralism happens by now?” Griffin only shakes her head._ _

__“Ramsey, you’re asking the same question people have asked for centuries. No one knows why hybrids are the way they are or why there is feralism. It’s just nature for us.”_ _

__The tension is heavy now and it’s time to switch gears. So Griffin stops, blinks and then resumes with, “Hey, what are those feral brats doing anyway? You got them locked away for now?”_ _

__Geoff looks up at where Jack is still sulking, apparently watching the ceiling paint dry from where his chin rests on the TV stand. His tail thumps idly, nose occasionally twitching as he simply waits. The sight is just too funny._ _

__”Well, Jack is being a big baby,” Geoff replies with a low chuckle, ignoring the irritated growl that follows his comment. “He’s just resting his head on the TV stand, staring off into space. He’s sad that I won’t forgive him for getting into that fight with Michael. Oh, and Michael is the only one locked up right now. He’s in the Lad Pad with Gav and Ray.” Griffin hums._ _

__”Good idea. The longer you keep them apart, the easier it should be to calm them down,” she says. “As long as neither one tries to escape and pursue their previous ‘argument’, I’d say..maybe half an hour, they’ll be back to normal? Just a guess.” Geoff sighs._ _

__”It’s better than what I can hope for. Thanks for the advice, Griffy.”_ _

__”Anytime Geoff.”_ _

__-  
Back at the Lad Pad, the audio of CoD fills the room with gunshots and virtual cries of dying men as Ray attempts another achievement. Gavin slumps the other way, Michael resting atop him, slowly rubbing his hand down the cat’s backside. Michael purrs, lax on top of his bird._ _

__

__The period of calm and peace is a very nice reprieve from the events of early that day, Ray racking up kills online as Gavin nearly falls into a doze with his kitty-cat. It’s warm, safe, the perfect mood to cuddle up with a favorite boi and sleep. At least, it is until Ray’s phone rings._ _

__Barely taking his eyes off the screen of their plasma TV, he reaches over to where his phone sits recharging, “All the Small Things” blasting from the tiny speakers and amplified by the acoustics of the room. He glances at the name tag and, seeing it as something friendly, pauses his game. Gavin listens onto the one-sided conversation as Michael’s purring lulls him._ _

__“Hello? Tina? Hey, hi, what’s up? ..Huh? What? …Your phone broke? ..Oh, I see. I told you that was gonna happen someday, T. Cats, liquids and phones do not mix-you have to train him not to jump onto your desk. But boo, no one listens to the wise Puerto Rican.” He stops and listens for a few moments, a grin on his face._ _

__“Haha, you too! But yeah, it’s fine. ..Nah, I mean it, it’s alright. I still have my phone. As long as you didn’t smash your SD card, I can lend it to you.”_ _

__He gets up from the nest, making his way over to the door as he says, “Just lemme see if it’s still in the office drawer. Geoff had a spring cleaning fever a few weeks ago to usher in his boy toy to House WAFFLE-O. …No, not that guy. New guy. He’s a lion.” He chuckles._ _

__“Yeah, got me too at first. A lion, who woulda thought… oh no, he’s cool. Sure I get spooked sometimes but hey, can he help it? Least he doesn’t catch me off guard on purpose like Michael does.” Michael growls. “Hey. you. Shut up. ….No! Not you Tina, I was talking to Michael there!” Gavin and Michael snicker at the fluster rabbit as he tries to recollect himself._ _

__“Sorry about that. Anyway, the phone. Yeah, gotta go the office for it. I’ve got to check that Geoff didn’t-” He unlocks the door and opens it a smidgen._ _

__Gavin grunts as a pressure rockets off his groin, on the staple, bounding towards the door._ _

__“Jesus fuck!”_ _

__ZIIP!_ _

__Ray stares in horror as a flash of a hoodie, red-brown hair and a tail escapes from the pad. From his cell phone, Tina can be heard calling for the hare, demanding an answer. “Oh fuck.”_ _

__Gavin groans, using his elbows to prop himself up. “What happened?” he wheezes, a hand protectively covering his crotch. Ray looks back at him. His tan skin has gone white._ _

__“Oh fuck.”_ _

__Gavin blinks back tears. His mouth stuck in a grimace, at both the pain assaulting his dick and the look of pure terror the brown man has. “X-Ray?” he inquires. Ray is still shell shocked._ _

__”Oh fuck,” Ray states a third time. He raises the phone to his ear as he replies to Tina, “Listen, I’m gonna have to call you back. Prisoner just made a break for freedom. Gotta catch him now, see you later BYE!” And hangs up._ _

__He turns on Gavin-much to the others loss-and grabs the lark’s wrist to pull him to his feet. YANK! Gavin squeaks as he nearly face plants onto the floor, Ray’s arm keeping him upright._ _

__“C’mon Vav, get up, Michael’s AWOL! We gotta get him!” Gavin squawks miserably._ _

__“But my nob-“_ _

__“Forget about your dick, man! Both our dicks are on the line if Geoff sees Michael on the run! Now let’s go!”_ _

__-_ _

__Granted, the ram should have thought something was wrong when he heard pounding feet and the sound of carpet being shredded in a frenzy. He tries to see what’s coming down the hall over the back of the couch but it’s too fast to see-it runs down the corridor and straight into the living room, making a beeline for the nearest cat in the vicinity._ _

__WHAM!_ _

__For the second time today, Michael has used the element of surprise to take down Jack. Legs follow the head in a backwards tumble as the lion takes the hit, dazed as he goes rolling right into the wall. The smaller cat hisses, hands batting whatever he can. Shocked, Geoff rises to his feet as the other Lads rush in, moments later._ _

__With a fiery glare to match Hell’s flames, Geoff snarls at the two, “I thought you fucks said you’d take Michael to the Lad Pad!” Ray takes a moment to breath, a look of hopelessness on his face._ _

__”He tricked us! He waited until I was opening the door to check on something and escaped!” Geoff groans._ _

__”Ten minutes,” he tells the others. “We had to wait ten fucking minutes until the feralism wore off. Goddamn it.” Michael is still yowling, whacking away at the older male. Geoff turns on him. “Will you shut up, Michael? You’ve ruined everything!”_ _

__The brunette cat breaks from his assault to growl at the ram, not knowing what a bad mistake that is. It appears as if the lion has had enough-Jack raises his paw again._ _

__Slam!_ _

__He cracks it on the other’s shoulder, sending him sprawling on the floor. As the other feline goes down, he shifts his weight to pin the other underneath him._ _

__It looks bad in all the ways it could be bad. Jack’s head is over Michael’s throat-Geoff knows from experience that the other has long, sharp teeth that can crunch through steak bones. His body, though it is softened slightly by age, still has the young and strong muscles of any alpha male lion. He’s heavy and powerful-if he wants to, he can easily overpower, maybe even kill the younger male that’s made himself a pest._ _

__So it’s a bit of a shock as Jack just eyes him, then leans down for a kiss._ _


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wikipedia has all the answers and the boys are treated to a free show. Hoo boy!

“I swear, where did I go wrong in my life?”

The afternoon Austin sun has made the air hot and sticky, no air conditioner strong enough to keep the heat at bay. Even if it was-and for a house that is home to six guys, it ought to be able to cool their electronics-the scene would still remain fairly steamy. Geoff, Gavin and Ray have resorted to sitting on the couch, shirts discarded in an attempt to keep cool. Sweat keeps their pant legs sticking to their calves as the three men stare at the pair moving together on the ground.

More specifically, the two cats fucking on the ground.

Geoff’s sigh is drawn at the sight. “Seriously,” he asks again, taking a gratuitous sip of the beer Gavin gave him. “Where did I go wrong that this would happen?” Ray shoots him a shit-eating grin.

“I have three suggestions,” he says, “the first being that you ever agreed to live in this house. Second option could when you decided you were totally gay for dicks and dove after that fine piece of ass.” _Fine piece of ass_ is punctuated with a tan finger pointing at Jack’s behind-it’s perfectly timed with the latter bending over Michael, hips jerking in time with the house cat’s soft pants. Geoff nods, face flushing at the nice view.

“Those two could work, I suppose. But what about the third?” Ray shrugs.

“That one? Well, I think it would probably be making that fish this morning. That got them feral and y’know, things fell into place from there.” Gavin chuckles softly beside them, bev in hand. He cracks it open with a satisfying pop and takes a long drink.

“If that’s supposed to be a bad choice,” Gavin begins, smacking his lips, “then I’m a sinner for loving this outcome.” The end of sentence seems to be approved by the two felines, as Jack gives a particularly hard thrust: Michael’s kitten mewls dissolving into one long, wanton moan. 

Gavin smiles. “Oh that’s a lovely sight," he breathes. The other two shake their heads.

“You’re part slut,” Geoff reprimands with a light slap to the bird’s thigh. “You have no say in this.” The lark sputters.

“Excuse you, we birds are actually monogamous!” he snaps, feathers ruffled. Ray snickers.

“Really? Your lark half didn’t get the memo when it screwed me that first time.” Geoff laughs at the indignant face Gavin makes. ”Or Michael or Ryan or Geoff, for that matter. You’re gotten around.”

They chortle for a bit at the huffy bird’s expense, at least until Michael yowls. Jack’s head has moved to the brunette’s shoulder, mouth clamped on the junction of his neck, lips sucking a hickey there. Geoff winces- he’s able to see bits of red well at the corner of the lion’s mouth and can imagine how far the canines have sunk in. “Oh shit, he’s bitten Michael. Should we separate ‘em?” 

Ray moves his thumb across his phone, unlocking the screen to the black, blue and white pages of Wikipedia. Saved on a particular spot, he goes off pulling up the info, eyes scanning the paragraphs.

“Nah,” he says simply, reading over the black text. “Says here that all felines bite during sex. Supposed to be sexy or some shit, I dunno. Michael should be fine.” “Fine” is an understatement; Michael tenses up from the pain of the claim, tail erect and ears bent sideways. A red heavy flush follows the bursting scent of ginger spices and pumpkin. White stripes of cum coat his belly and Jack’s, the lad’s pale thighs quivering.

Jack pulls out, clearly not relieved as his angry red cock hangs between his legs. Michael, on the other hand, is a puddle of nerves, barely able to focus his eyes back from rolling into his head. He’s been wrung a good orgasm over the past hour. The men sigh.

“That’s the second time they’ve finished,” Geoff observes, getting out of his seat. “We should probably stop them before-oh hell, Jack!” The lion has nudged the spent kitten onto his knees. Like a rag doll, Michael has no energy to complain-he obeys the insistent pushing, limbs lethargic as he turns around, ass in the air and on display for his roommates.

The three watch as Jack touches a curious finger to his hole, trailing down to his curve of his balls and back. Michael mewls softly, shivering-Gavin breathes out slowly through his nose, trying to steady himself, hand inches away from where his hardness is forming. Ray is doing no better. Since the two began their ‘playful encounter’ he’s been carrying a blush on his cheeks, the pink dust visible on his tanned skin and darkening whenever he hears a whorish moan.

Jack is a good partner. Knowing how the other has dirtied himself and is staining the carpet with his dripping fluids, he does what any good cat does and takes on the duty of clean up. It’s absolutely filthy how he goes about it, coming in at an angle that the others can see what’s going on. The lion’s pink tongue flicks out to taste sweaty skin and, finding it pleasant to his taste buds, begins lapping up mouthfuls of slick and cum. It’s expected by the three omegas that when Michael finds something good, he’ll want more of it: like a well trained pet, he’s backing into the wet, warm tongue, crying every time it pierces into him with ease.

Every time his tongue does push past the rim, Jack entertains the other with a few licks, a finger hooking into the puckered hole and thrusting in at a shallow pace. It’s a great formula for wreaking Michael: the cat calls, yowls and practically screams as the lion goes deeper, becomes a little braver, teasingly brushing past the good spot hidden within him.

The three sigh, Round 3 already underway. So much for separating them…

It’s the bird among them who recovers first and suggests the next plan of action. “Sit down Geoff,” the Brit says, tugging on the still-standing ram’s wrist. “They’ll be going for a while yet. Might as well enjoy it, yeah?” At ‘enjoy’, Ray leans down to reach underneath the table, pulling out Vaseline and a huge box of tissues. Geoff stares at it for a moment.

“…When did we…?”

“Michael’s stash,” Ray interrupts, waggling his eyebrows. “This is gonna teach that fucker for causing a ruckus-next time he wants to rub off to late night porn, he’s gonna find himself without supplies.”

“Interesting method of revenge,” Gavin chips in. Ray shrugs.

“What can I say? I’m going to kick him where it hurts.”

Geoff sighs, looking over to where the duo is still rutting like animals. Michael has no sense of modesty, his hands going back instinctively to part his ass cheeks for the alpha. He’s taken to moaning loudly as the deft muscle plays around his rim, sometimes going in and other times merely ghosting the area. When he isn’t playing attention to that sensitive place, he’s leaned down far enough to suck a testicle into his mouth, massages his balls with soft lips and wet kisses.

Gavin’s tugging isn’t going unnoticed and, with another heavy sigh, he allows himself to be dragged down back onto the couch. Ray hugs his left while Gavin hugs his right, the three of them voyeurs to the base acts.

Now he’d be a dirty liar if he said he wasn’t the least bit aroused, his tiny Geoffers already standing at half mast, ready for the rest of his body to accept the free porn. He’d been mad, sure-first that Michael had attacked Jack and then shocked when Jack began his little ‘mating’ ritual. But already an hour or so in, Geoff doesn’t have the energy to stay mad anymore. The shivers going up and down his spine have already hardened his nipples, his hand unconsciously coming up to rub at it while the other goes south.

Of course he isn’t nearly as subtle as he wants to, as Gavin watches him out of the corner of his eye. He shares a knowing look with Ray as the eldest omega begins to flick the hardened nub, biting back pleased groans as his other hand palms at his crotch.

Geoff nearly squeaks in surprise, cry dissolving into a moan as Ray and Gavin’s hands reach over to grab his chest, thumbing his nipples. Unlike most rams his age, Geoff has a softness around his muscles, including his chest that should be cut and powerful. Perhaps it’s the trait they all share being omegas, of being soft and ready mothers-the lads grab handful’s of breast between their fingers, massaging it with their palms. Gavin leans forward, kissing his pectoral and giving his right nipple a wet lick. “Eager, are you love?”

He whimpers. “Fuck dude,” he breathes; Ray has his mouth viced to the nub, sucking and running his front teeth over the sensitive flesh. The action causes Geoff to jerk in his seat, not flying out of it due to the boys holding each side of his hips down. He groans. “Haa! Haa! F-fucking teases!”

Now Geoff’s whining is joining Michael’s in the canopy of naughty sounds, of skin being sucked purple or in Geoff’s case, having his fly unzipped and invaded by curious hands. Gavin’s index and middle fingers trace the outline of his cock in his drawers, rubbing at the tip of his cock where the slit is beading precome, causing strangled cuss words and sinful groans to tumble out of Geoff’s mouth. He nearly shouts when Gavin decides to have some mercy, slipping behind the waistband of the boxers to start stroking the swollen flesh.

Ray kisses up his neck as Gavin lavishes attention on his earlobe, stopping to whisper into his ear. “Dirty boy,” the lark teases, kissing his ear’s rim. “Naughty old goat. Did you want to be in Michael’s position, getting eaten out like that?” Geoff whimpers.

Ray kisses him, smiling thinly. “That wasn’t an answer, Geoff,” he warns him. Fingers pinch at his nipples, drawing a sharp gasp and a shaky moan. “Answer Gavin, please.”

The ram drops his head. “Y-yes…”

“Yes what, Geoffrey?” Gavin asks, kissing at the junction of his neck and ear. Geoff whines. Gavin’s grip on his groin has turned into a tight fist, the pleasure in Geoff spiking with the harsh treatment. He’s always been a bit of a masochist. Gavin knows this and smiles, only applying more pressure to the base of Geoff’s cock as he advises, “Use your words and explain to us what you want.”

The ram is too far gone to care about modesty, shallowly thrusting his hips in a feeble attempt to find release as he whimpers, “Yes, I do..I do want to be eaten out.”

“Like Michael is?” Ray asks, hand going to play with Geoff’s other nipple. Geoff squeaks right about the same time Michael does, both of them moaning as their partners target their pleasure points, milking them for what their worth. The ram shakes, his blush reaching his shoulders, coloring it a lustful red.

“Yes! Yes please! Oh god…” He’s a mess, as Gavin’s hand works on his dick, giving it slow, rough strokes. Both Lads hum. Ray casts Gavin a mischievous look.

“Orgy?” he offers. The bird smiles.

“My dear X-Ray, I thought you’d never ask.”

-

Said scene above would never have come into existence if it weren’t for two vital points about cats and their behaviors. The first being: Cats are gay.

Like, really gay.

-

**An hour earlier….**

Everyone collectively gasps when Jack eyes the younger cat, a predatory gleam in his eyes. His pupils are blown, ears cocked forward and intently focused on the one squirming beneath him, hissing away and futilely trying to pry him off. Geoff sweats bullets.

Oh god Jack no. Jack please don’t hurt him. Jack you’re better than that, don’t let instinct take over! Jack, Jack, Jack! His mind is a fray of hopes and cold fear. His limbs are locking in place, the other lads tensing as a low, rumbling growl reverberated from the crouched lion. It’ feral, threatening but curious as the gent leans down, the tip of his nose touching Michael’s.

Michael freezes, no doubt having heard the growl. Even a cat as prideful as him knows when he’s well and truly fucked. His ears flip back, eyes wide and fearful: like a safety blanket, his tail comes up between his legs, as if it can serve as a proper shield against the other. He doesn’t beg for forgiveness or submit-no, he’s not going belly up for anything-but just lays there, waiting for the oncoming hit.

The silence is heavy.

But the most shocking thing is what no one expects. Soft pink lips meet chapped ones, the heaviness of the lion’s frame pinning the awed feline to the floor. Michael’s eyes go comically wide as the make out begins, too flabbergasted to deny the kiss from deepening or stop Jack from coaxing his mouth open. Poor kitten’s brains are frying-he’s getting French kissed by his opponent, not smacked down like he should. As that fact stands, the other guys remain slack jawed.

Ray sums up their shock sufficiently with a well said, “Are they… are they making out?” Geoff stares as Gavin answers the question with a meek, quiet nod.

The kiss is broken by a wet, sloppy sound, Jack’s eyes lidded as he gazes into Michael still wide ones. He’s purring, his entire chest shaking from the content rumble, nosing Michael’s cheek, his neck and ears. Michael stays rag dolled on the floor, relaxing with each rub that Jack gives him.  
The first grind isn’t obvious at first though it snaps Michael out of his stupor. More of out concern than malice, he begins to struggle against the hold he’s in. Of course, in his feral state he doesn’t realize he’s too close and twisting around like he is doing only serves to thrust his hips forward, grinding out a delicious rub. The shock of pleasure strangles Michael’s fearful mewls into a moan.

Jack snorts, obviously amused. He readjusts, putting one knee between the other’s legs, still rubbing his face against Michael’s with eyes that are expectant. Little by little, Michael is calming down, hips shallowly moving against the limb Jack has provided him.

Of course, the other hybrids can make little sense out of the scenario. “What the bloody hell are they doing?” Gavin questions. The others shrug.

”Pretty sure whatever they’re doing isn’t normal,” Geoff replies. “I have no idea what Jack trying to do here. Is he.. is he being nice to him? What the fuck? Michael was trying to kill him a couple of minutes ago! And I’m only guessing Michael is unintentionally trying to get off on his thigh right now.”

”Well, at least Jack isn’t trying to kill Michael,” Ray adds. “Silver lining, you guys.”

Michael mewls, sporting a hard on. The others blink, watching how Jack is slowly moving his joint against the bugle, mouth at Michael’s neck and licking softly at the skin there.

”Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Geoff demands.

Gavin turns on Ray. “You still got your phone?”

”Yeah, why?”

”Check the net, see if there’s something to help us out here.”

Ray rolls his eyes. ‘Oh yeah Vav, that’s a brilliant idea. Consult fucking wikipedia for advice on sexual strategies of felines.” He stops after he says this. His brows raise in thought as realization dawns.

”Actually, that does sound like a good idea.”

“ _Guys._ ”

”Sorry Geoff, getting on it now.”

-

**50 minutes earlier…**

”Okay, so what you’re trying to tell me is that they’re…they’re going to fuck?” Geoff tries, brain computing the information. Ray consults the article once again, frowning.

”I guess? It says here it’s common for domestic cats to fight for dominance, even if it looks like they’re about to fuck. It’s even more common for lions to engage in homosexual activity as a way to unwind and strengthen bonds.” He offers the phone to the other two to see the outlined article. “See? in both cases, felines get all frisky before they fuck, and it sometimes looks like fighting to others.”

”But what does that stuff have to do with.. that?” Gavin asks, pointing at the phone to the other two who are openly frotting against each other. Ray thinks, rubbing his chin in thought.

”Maybe Jack’s lion mistakened Michael’s aggression for a need to fuck?” he suggests. “I mean, Michael’s still an Omega who’s healthy and unmated. Jack is an apex hunter with really strong Alpha instincts. It could be that at first, Jack’s lion really did take Michael’s attacks as threats but now thinks it’s Michael’s attempt to get his attention.”

”To get fucked?” Geoff supplies. Ray rolls his eyes.

”Sure Geoff, that’s exactly it. Or maybe Jack sees this as a way to calm Michael’s tits. That could work too.” Gavin chuckles.

”He wouldn’t be the first person to think of that solution. Sex is like, the biggest way to calm down Michael.” Though he snickers, the other two give him flat looks. “..What?”

”You are such a hoe,” the rabbit grumbles. “You are such a hoe, you’ve got no right calling me a horny rabbit all the time.”

”Hey!”

It’s a fight waiting to happen and a fight that the Ram doesn’t want to put up with as the boys point daggers at each other. He stamps his foot once, snapping them out of their heated glowering.

Geoff breaks the forming argument with a simple, “So what do we do in the meantime? Pull them apart or something?”

The two blinks, looks between each other and the eldest, before their gaze lands on the pair.  
Michael is showing less and less restraint with each passing thrust, shuddering as sweat forms on his brow and a flush sinks onto his skin. Jack licks a bead of sweat from his cheek, his beard tickling the kitten’s neck and making him mewl. Their pants slide together, hard and in Michel’s case, beginning to drip slick from arousal. The scent of spicy pumpkin clods the air, over Jack’s black raspberry, suffocating it in a way it’s amazing no one is passing out from air loss. They shiver together, images jumping into their heads.

Smells just like Michael on heat.

Out of all of them, it’s agreed Michael has the headiest scent, the kind that anyone would go ga-ga for. Geoff is a close second, his honey-hazelnut a welcome counter aroma to Michael’s spice during their inevitable heats. It makes one thirst for release-Ray swears by the book that any premature heat of his is started by smelling either the other lad or gent-but also yearn to be near the source. Geoff is surprised that he isn’t starting to moisten right now, giving how Michael’s scent is coming out in loads.

Jack’s eyes narrow and he growls, dipping down for another kiss. Michael moans underneath the rough contact, fingers threading in Jack’s mane. Geoff sighs.

This is gonna be a long, long day…

-

The second vital point is that cats when cats get started, it’s hard to stop.

-

**45 minutes earlier**

The men flinch when Jack roars. It’s loud and annoyed, his sharp claws suddenly tearing open Michael’s shirt, exposing hardened pink nipples and a red-flushed chest. Michael brings his arms over his chest, shocked before turning mad.

He hisses at Jack, as if to say “Asshole, that was a good shirt”. Jack doesn’t care, as he begins to kiss and nip at the unmarked skin. Michael struggles, his claws coming out.

Scratch! Blood wells where Michael’s nails have cut Jack’s shoulder, the older cat hissing as the pain sets in.

”Michael!” Gavin chides from the couch. He nearly rises from his seat before Ray stops him. 

“Ray, what are you-“

The Puerto Rican shakes his head, pointing. “Just watch.”

The lion hybrid grunts, his claws slipping underneath the cat. Michael yelps as he’s ungraciously flipped onto his side, Jack’s paw pressing his head onto the ground as the other struggles with the belt and jeans. or did struggle. in the throes of passions, lions don’t give much of a fuck for apparel. Jack’s fingers easily slice through the leather keeping the denim up, his index catching on the lip of the trousers and yanking them down. The blue boxers follow after and too soon, Michael’s flushed cock is bared for the world.

Slick trails down his thigh, the kitten meowing lamely as the lion traces a finger around his slick rim.

It’s quite a sight-a treat really-for the trio to see Michael so helpless as the older male slips a finger inside with ease, probing around while the other quietly moans. The digit circles, thrusts, draws back and circles again, blindly looking for that particular good spot, all while Michael comes undone. He groans as jack changes to two, then three fingers, still looking.

Then he hooks them. Michael must have seen stars then, as he cries with the orgasm that rips out of him. His tail twitches, flopping uselessly behind him, only to be lovingly twisted around Jack’s tail, like some sort of anchor. He moans and shudders, tears at his eyes as he recovers from the spiraling high.

Regardless if the other has found release, Jack is still going for the gold, slowly moving his fingers, stretching out the cat shuddering underneath him. Slick colors the carpet beneath them, giving it a shine next to the off white of Michael spend. Geoff blushes, from the smell and look of utter abandon Michael has, as Gavin tries to speak.

”S-should.. should we stop them?” Ray shakes his head.

”Something tells me they won’t be done for awhile.” Geoff wants to try though.

He tries to move forward, to get between the two. He inches slowly, quietly as he can but Michael senses him. The cat tenses and hisses at him. Yellow eyes glare at him, threatening him to take another step. His tail puffs and agitation pours from every part of him. Leave!

Geoff’s ram knows better than to mess with a predator in the midst of mating and instinctively he backs up a step. Michael is dangerous, domestic or not, not a force to be reckoned with. Even if Geoff’s human side doesn’t fear him, the ram inside is shaking in trepidation.

Still, it’s Jack’s bored sigh that dissuades Geoff from going farther. He looks tired, as if trying to placate the other is taking its toll on him. As such, he backs off, scooting back until he falls into his seat.

”Well,” he starts and stops. The Lads look at him.

”Well?”

”Well I don’t think this is gonna end ‘til Michael is satisfied. I don’t wanna risk him turning all his bitchiness on me.” Ray huffs, Gavin frowning.

The Brit complains, “That could take awhile. Michael has really good stamina.” Geoff shakes his head.

”Don’t remind me. I don’t want to think how long this could take.”

Especially when it seems Michael is absolutely ready for round two, his cock rising to attention as Jack fingers him, his own pants being shucked down his hips by his free hand, slightly torn by the frantic motions of his claws. His cock shines with precome, red and thick. His knot is there yet-he’s not that aroused, not at the point where he has to mate. Still, it’s a nice sight. Gavin and Ray whistle at the size of Jack’s ‘gift’.

”There he is, little Jack.”

Gavin agrees, adding, “The Pride of the Savannah, right there. Good god he’s packing.” Geoff frowns.

“Okay, you two really need to shut up about my boyfriend. Like, right now, before I hit you.”

Gavin only turns an impish smile on Geoff. “But Geoffrey, look at it,” he says. “How can you look at that dick and not comment on it?”

With a satisfied smile, he answers, “Because I get fucked by that on a regular basis. You’re just have to say something because you aren’t getting the D.” Gavin glowers darkly at the comment, though Ray only nods in agreement.

“I’m jealous of the D, Geoff, I’ll admit that. Sometimes I feel like my Junior can’t compare to that massive dick.” At this Geoff stifles a laugh, leaning over to kiss Ray’s cheek.

“Oh my poor Ray. You’re still my Puerto Rican Thunder, if it means anything to you.” Ray beams, nuzzling into the Ram’s side. Gavin only pouts.

“And what am I, Geoff? Fried chicken wings?”

“Covered in cum sauce,” he retorts. “You fucking hoe.”

“I’m not a hoe!”

“Tell that to your lark who’s screwed everyone in this household, Vav!”

-

**30 minutes earlier…**

“Where do you think Michael learned to bend that way?”

“Ryan.”

“That…That was too quick. Ray, how-“

“I _watched_ , that’s how, Geoff.”

-

**25 minutes earlier….**

“How the hell does your boyfriend last this long, Geoff?”

“I dunno…Maybe lions don’t go as quick as cats do. After all, it takes awhile for his knot to form.”

“Domestic cats get off in 15 seconds or less, multiple times a day.”

“How-“

“Wikipedia. See?”

“Oh.”

“For someone who owned pet cats all his life, you know next to shit, Gav.”

“Well I never fucked my cats, Geoff.”

“You sure? You didn’t mind fingering mine.”

“ _What?_ "

“It’s a long story Ray. I’ll tell it to you another day.”

“I bloody hate you.”

-

**15 minutes…**

“Are they done yet?”

“Well, he’s got his dick in him. It’s a start.”

“Christ.”

“I’m gonna go grab some bevs from the fridge. Any requests while I’m up?”

“I’ll take a soda, Vav.”

“Geoff?”

“Just a beer. I’m so fucking done with this shit.”

-

**Ten minutes….**

“In and out. In and out.”

“Ray.”

“Sorry. Shutting up now.”

“Back with drinks!”

“Fucking finally!”

“Are they done-“

“No.” “Nuh-uh.”

“Damn it.”

“Cheers, boys.”

-

And now…?

-

Finding out that cats are really gay and aggressive creatures showed them to leave things as is, leading to said scene of Jack eating Michael out.

And well, this too.

”F-fuck, you guys!”

Geoff pants, his boxers discarded in favor of his legs being hoisted up by Gavin. Said bird is very pleased holding his elder’s legs up, watching as two of Ray’s fingers easily slip past the wet lip of his hole, syrupy slick gushing with each shallow thrust. They’re terribly naughty, these sounds that the wetness and lube make, lewd pops and presses that makes Geoff squirm underneath  
the practiced touches. Ray’s other hand holds his hips still, a mean smirk on his lips.

”Now c’mon Geoff,” he says lightly. “You love this! Doesn’t it feel good?” He punctuates the question with a slow rub into his asshole, the tip of his finger grazing the bundle of nerves. The ram moans, Gavin chuckling overhead.

”He’s so loose and wet, huh X-Ray?” he coos. “At this rate, you could fit your whole fist in his naughty hole, huh?” Geoff gulps. His heart takes a leap at the implications, of the near-what can be.

”D-Don’t do that to me.. c’mon guys… I wouldn’t be able to take it…” The lads laugh at his flushing face and lust-blown eyes.

”Don’t worry,” Ray assures him easily. “I won’t do that. As tempting as it is, I don’t do that sort of stuff. And the only one who can fist you right is Ryan, right? You love it when his hand spreads you open-you’d come all over his wrist ‘cause you’d take his whole hand in. Am I right?” Geoff moans, twisting as Ray reaches in, fingers pressing down hard on his prostate. Sparks cross his vision as the heat coils in his stomach, feeling the good sensations all around his body. It doesn’t help the lark won’t shut up, his accent understandable through the haze the goat is falling into.

”Speaking of Rye-Bread, you think we should record this? Geoff getting all hot and bothered thinking about being fisted, maybe include a clip of Michael being blown over there?” Michael gasps from where he’s still on the ground, the carpet wet with his juices that Jack sucks out of him with his mouth. His eyes are blown, more undone than Geoff feels, hair tangled and skin glistening with sweat as he lays on his back. His hips quiver with need as Jack goes down on him.

The lion isn’t one for giving blow jobs-because of his sharp teeth, he’s confessed once-but to see his lips clamped around a dick and bobbing up and down a length is something Geoff will remember for a lifetime. Even as a feral, he’s careful, precisely drawing back enough with enough suction that Michael helplessly tangles his fingers in red hair, noiselessly begging for more. Sometimes a flat tongue can be seen, teasing the vein that throbs with blood or simply wetting it more with spit. Either way, when Jack looks up from where he’s sucking cock, cheeks hollowed out -GOD! Geoff turns away, the sight too arousing for him.

He can’t look away for long. “Nuh-uh,” Ray chides, grabbing Geoff’s chin. He turns it so that Geoff stares back at where the two cats lay, softly ordering, “You keep watching them. Reap what you sow and all.” Geoff groans.

Perhaps it’s the feeble sound of his mate that has Jack’s attention because he pulls off Michael with a wet pop, a thin trail of saliva following his mouth. He gives a curious rumble, head cocked. Gavin notices and smiles.

”You like seeing Geoff like this?” he asks Jack, who looks at the bird blankly. He releases Geoff’s leg, letting it hang off the couch as he reaches forward for the Vaseline. He asks the lion, “Want to see something more alluring?”

He squirts a dime’s worth of the oil onto his palm, rubbing it all over his hand. Geoff eyes him carefully, licking his lips.

”Gav, what are you-” he stops mid sentence, gasping as Gavin’s hand closes around his dick. 

“Jesus fuck!” Gavin smiles.

”I want to show Jack just how much of a needy omega you are,” he says. “Taking two fingers up your arse while I jerk you off-it’ll be pleasing, huh?” Geoff whines.

”N-No fair!”

But Jack purrs, loudly so, as Gavin fists the cock in his hand, thumbing the ridge of his penis and sending shivers up his spine. Ray redoubles his fingering efforts, stroking his prostate like a pet deserving praise. Geoff whimpers and moans around the sensations assaulting him, sweat dripping down his forehead as he tries to hold out through the ride.

Whoever thinks Gavin is a klutz has never received a hand job from him, feeling how precise his fingers are at rubbing and jerking the hard flesh in all the right ways, keeping Geoff on the brink of orgasm. Likewise, Ray is a master- their years as cameraman and gamer must have endowed them with divine hands that can pluck the right chords and get partners singing. His honey-hazelnut is becoming stronger as he inches toward completion, almost battling Michael’s own pumpkin.

Underneath them, the aroused chorus of kiwi soda pop, rose and raspberry grow, getting high on the mixed scents.

It doesn’t occur to any of them it will be one of their lasting evidences of today.

Jack appreciates the sight of his lover being pleasured, a catty smirk on his lips as Geoff pants and groans from the hands that work him near the edge. Even when he whines, the three males only watch and wait for him to become more wanton, until he’s practically begging for them to be faster, harder, go deeper than they have been before.

Michael shares similar sentiments for completely different reasons. With Jack no longer paying attention to him, too focused on Geoff being ravished, he mewls, nails lightly raking over the numerous cuts on his shoulders. The lion lowly growling, his eyes ripped back to the feline underneath them. they have a silent conversation.

_What do you want cub?_

_Pay attention to me, you fucker! I’m still horny._

_And I am paying attention. What else do you want? I’m tired of games. I want my mate._

It’s true. His knot is beginning to form at long last, a knot that Geoff knows won’t go away until it’s stuck somewhere, preferably wet and warm. Michael sees it and seems to want it, gyrating his hips to rub against it. But Jack-

Jack pulls back, like he’s afraid.

It’s what knocks Geoff out of his zone long enough to figure what’s wrong. Even as Michael yowls and pleads to be knotted, trying to posture for the alpha, Jack resists. His golden eyes rise to meet Geoff’s teal ones, letting him understand-letting him figure out how Jack’s staring at him as if he needs permission, like he needs to know it’s okay.

_I don’t want to cheat on you. I don’t want to be a bad lover and knot Michael. He wants it but I can’t, not if it’d hurt you._

Perhaps it’s the mere thought of Jack being faithful, even when feral, that brings Geoff to blush so hard, or the fact his roommates are having their gleeful way with him-either way, Geoff can’t say no to his lion, no matter what. His lion, his mate he thinks. With his throat dry, he tries to soothe his beast. He croaks, “Jack.”

The lion raises his head, listening intently.

”Jack,” he orders weakly. “Knot Michael. Do it, I want to see him cum.” Jack’s eyes go wide, pupils turning into small slits.

The lads hiss in delight at the command, sporting scarlets of their own. “Fuck Geoff, that’s hot,” Ray says, kissing his neck. “Kinky old goat.” He has no idea of the scene that’s taken place but that’s alright. Geoff moans, right as Jack groans in satisfaction.

Michael cries as the knot is positioned in place, sinking into his body with a long, fluid thrust.  
Geoff’s command, it seems, has given a new fervor to the lion, who begins to pick up his thrusts at a brutal pace. Michael nearly slides across the carpet with each jolt the move sends through his system, panting through the motions of Jack pulling him onto his knot and back. The ram moans as Ray moves in time with the thrusts, Gavin’s following suit with his lubed hand tugging his cock. Neither can last much longer, watching each other bounce on a cock or fingers, their partners pulling out all the stops in a race to finish.

A finish that comes too fast, too quick, too hard. Both omegas cry, cum and slick getting everywhere, on the couch, floor and the other boys. Jack comes with nothing but a strangled grunt, Michael’s walls squeezing around his knot and milking all of his seed.

-

”Well..” Ray pants, catching his breath against Geoff’s chest. “That…That was something…”

Gavin tweets happily, ignorant of how his shorts are sticking to him uncomfortably. “How’d you rate this? Outta ten?”

”Ten out of Ten. Would do again.” Geoff groans.

”Fuck no. The two of you are never touching me again.” Ray chuckles.

”You liked it though.”

”I did.”

”Then what’s the problem, Geoff?” Gavin argues. “You liked it, don’t you want to do it again?”  
Geoff shrugs, correcting, “Well, I never said we couldn’t do an orgy again. You two dicks just aren’t allowed to touch me.”

”Prick.”

”Yeah, you can’t touch that again. Sorry. Your dick privileges have been revoked.”

-

Getting cleaned up thankfully takes as much time as it does for Jack’s knot to loosen, the stream of cum running down Michael’s thighs as the cat gives a pleased hum. It takes moment to pry Jack away from doing anything, the ram tugging on the lion’s tail as he tries to lean forward. Like an obedient dog Jack stays back, long enough for the Lads to scoop their last member up into a blanket from the arm chair.

Geoff points a finger at them, voice stern: “You three. Lad Pad. Do not let him go for thirty minutes, alright? Let him sleep it off.” They nod, disappearing as soon as it’s been ordered.  
To Jack, he only smiles. the lion purrs, rubbing his face against his leg. “You feel better?”

A grunt.

“You wanna nap too?” Another grunt and Jack’s powerful arms grab him around the waist, nuzzling his abdomen. Geoff snorts, muttering a soft, “Dork.”

He collects the last of the clothes he had shed, both his and jack’s, throwing them into the laundry room for later on their walk down the hall. Jack follows closely behind, his steps slow and sleepy as they reach their bedroom-he nearly pounces onto it, ready to collapse before Geoff stops him.

”It’s always okay.”

Jack looks up, eyes still golden but somehow human. He watches Geoff stand there in clean boxer, a light flush on his cheeks.

”It’s okay,” the ram repeats to him. “It’s okay if you knot someone else, I don’t mind. As long as I know you still love me, I’m fine.” Jack blinks.

”Mrrr?”

Geoff shrugs, walking to the bed to sit on it. Jack immediately comes to his side, his warmth radiating off and heating up Geoff’s bare skin-he shivers, pleased, without meaning to. “Sorry man, I feel like it needs to be said. I mean, I’ve had my share of bad alphas but..”

One might expect something heart rendering to be said and maybe, in his heightened state, Jack expected that too. But as he’s come to understand, nothing is traditional about Geoff Ramsey: he kisses Jack without another word, lips locking onto his, the faint taste of cum and slick be damned. The lion stills. The kiss is tender and intimate without the usual vigor of their coupling, shocking the hybrid into complete silence. What is his mate trying to do?

He want to ask, even if his voice won’t work. He wants to know why Geoff would kiss him so suddenly like that. But as the ram pulls back, he finishes his thoughts, the answer to his actions: “Those alphas weren’t you, Jack. You’re special and different from them all. I love you.”

Jack must understand that, as his rumbling is contented and blissful, tail thumping on the mattress.

”Mrrr.. Mrr…”

”I have no idea what that means. Stop trying to feral-speak at me.”

Jack bumps his head against Geoff’s, breathing in his scent. “Mrrr…” The other chuckles.

”Okay. I ‘mrr-mrr’ you too. Whatever that means. Now go to sleep, asshole and get over this state. Sappy time is over.” The command doesn’t stop Jack from pulling the other down with him. Geoff goes along, laughing as Jack works to rearrange them into comfortable positions. He kneads the bed if he thinks it’s too tough, moves Geoff aside if he’s too close of not angled well enough to hold-he can only close his eyes when he’s comfortably surrounding his mate, taking in his scent and knowing he’s there.

Yes. His mate, his Geoff. His eyes slide closed watching Geoff watching him, eyes soft and warm. His lovely, little lamb.

The dreams he has during his sleep are nothing short of wonderful, being next to the one he cares for the most.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Jack and Michael wake up to an "Evening After" the episode and both have VERY different responses to the situation.

There are a couple of things wrong when Jack wakes up. He snorts awake with a dry mouth, horribly bad breath and the odd taste of something sour in the back of his throat. Geoff, snoring loudly, is unconsciously pressed against him, the base of his rough curved horn underneath Jack’s chin. Their ceiling fan is squeaking quietly in the dim light. Long shadows from the window’s light stick to the corners of their shared room, over the wrinkles in the blanket and in the places where clothing hasn’t been picked up for laundry day. Granted, such sights are ordinary, when it’s in the morning.

It…it’s still morning right? The setting sun he sees begs to differ. Blinking groggily at the window, the ginger tries to flip onto his other side, careful not to wake the sleeping ram and check the bedside clock. It read 7:35.

Huh!? In the evening!?

The shifting his surprise-or more appropriately his freak the fuck out session-causes is enough to rouse the ram from his dreams, who yawns and curls further into his warmth. Teal eyes slowly blink away sleep, mustache twitching as his body starts up again. He looks at Jack, a soft smile spreading across his lips. “Morning, kitty.”

Jack stares at him, clearly horrified.

He wishes that Geoff’s response could be a little more than a lazy smile and contented little bleating but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

“Geoff?”

“Mmm?” is the sleepy and half-aware reply. Geoff’s hand is already petting his mane and down the length of his arm.

However nice it feels for those blunt fingers to work out tangles in his fur and stroke his achy muscles, Jack needs facts. Badly. He steels himself before he asks in a timid voice: “Geoff…Why are we still in bed? What did we do all day?” He thinks that maybe today was just that lazy, that maybe their previous romp last night tired them out more than he thought it could.  
What he doesn’t expect is for Geoff to pull back as if he’d been severely burned.

All traces of sleep are gone from the ram’s face and replaced by utter confusion. ”Wha?” he stammers to the other. “Y-you’re serious?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Can you..” Geoff begins. He shakes his head as he tries again. He inquires slowly, “Jack, do you remember waking up this morning?”

He tries to remember. Really he does, scrunching up his face in thought as his ears flip back and his tail thumps in meditation. “Uhh….”

Geoff frowns, arms crossed. “Gonna take that as a straight-up no.”

“What did I do?” the other snaps. He’s legitimately confused as to why they’re still in bed at 7 at night, Geoff is lacking the same underpants from last night (was it last night?) and he still has a nasty taste in his mouth. It sounds like Geoff is accusing him of doing something he can’t remember-and honestly, this far in their months long relationship, he has done no wrong that can justify this anger besides that pardoned episode of screwing Gavin. Geoff continues to frown at him, though it looks more and more pitying by the second.

“Do you really want to know?” the ram asks him. Jack can tell by the stone forming in his gut that something isn’t right.

“Geoff,” he answers evenly, “what did I do this morning?”

-

In another part of the house, Michael is having a meltdown, all parts of the process included.  
“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!” The lark and rabbit both cringe at the shrill volume Michael has been able to take. Since waking up with a sore ass and hickeys without memory of them, he had done what any other person would do. He asked about them. As his friends, roommates and occasional fuck buddies, it was their job to inform him. Michael expected the answer to be simple-the three Lads got drunk and had a no-pants party-only to be told it wasn’t by either of their doing.

Apparently the truth hurts and blows out people’s eardrums, as Michael continues to screech. “I screwed that motherfucker? And you didn’t stop me!?”

“Couldn’t,” Ray retorts, inserting his pinkies into his ears in hopes he can block out most of the bitch-fit. He can still hear a majority of it and answer the fuming cat. “Hey, you were the one all feral and refusing anyone when he started sucking face with you! We had to wait until he finished to do anything.” Michael groans, slumping against the sink of the Lad Pad.

“Oh god,” he mutters, “Please don’t tell me he came inside me. Don’t tell me he knotted me…did he?” The last part is asked with an uncertain glance over his shoulder to his cohorts.

Said cohorts share a look between each other before grimacing.

Michael bangs his head against the marble, a feeble moan escaping his mouth. “Oh god, I’m gonna get knocked up with that fucker’s kits.” His whining and blubbering continues as he just hangs off the edge of the sink, apparently done with life. Gavin, knowing his friend’s discontent, offers the best advice he has.

“Well, you already finished your heat weeks ago, Michael. Next major one isn’t due until summer. It’s real unlikely you’d get pregnant from just one lil’ cock up,” he says. Turning to Ray, he insists, ” Ray, back me up here. Fertility goes, what, like half as much down after a heat?”

The rabbit tips his head to the side, sporting a bored look.

“More like it becomes virtually non-existent,” the hare replies, idly playing with the furry tip of his ear. “Eggs are duds by then, then gotten rid of. And listen Mike, I know you’re upset but you’re freaking out over nothing. We gave you a pill, just in case.” The cat stops and licks his chops, blinking as he registers the others words.

“I was wondering what that nasty aftertaste was.” Gavin giggles at the calm that overtakes his roommate, all while Ray sighs.

“See? Complaining over nothing.” He looks between Gavin and Michael as he adds, “We were lucky this time.”

Michael raises his head, brow already cocked as Gavin tilts his. “Lucky? What do you mean, X-Ray?” The last Lad crosses his arms, a glower on his face.

“Lucky as in Jack decided to screw you rather than kill you when you were feral,” he explains. The mention of what could have been makes both boys wince, especially when Ray continues, “You were a real ass to him, Michael. Listen, I don’t know what your beef is with him-“

“I have no beef!” Michael tries to argue but is interrupted by Ray’s hand.

“-but whatever it is, your cat acted on it!” the hare snaps. His gaze is cold as he addresses the feline, telling him, “In case you forgot, our animal halves tend to not give a shit about our feelings. I lucked out that my hare actually cares about my wants and doesn’t freak out at every possible second-he trusts me in that regard-but your cat? It seems whenever you’re pissed off, your cat wants to do something about it.” Michael tenses, tail curling around him.

“…He’s just careful,” Michael replies. “He doesn’t want me getting hurt.” Gavin nods sagely at the remark.

“Our other sides want to protect us,” he agrees. “Michael, it’s reasonable that your cat side wants you to be safe and happy with us.” Gavin looks over at Ray with slight caution. He continues when the other nods, stating, “Thing is, you don’t always reign him in. You don’t stop his catty wants and habits from bleeding into your life when you really should. When you get mad about something and don’t deal with it, he gets defensive for you.”

“He gets annoying,” Ray clarifies. Gavin shoots the rabbit a dirty look for the insult but can’t say much on the matter. Michael pouts.

He tries to argue this: “I’m a predator, you guys, my instincts are harder to control. My cat isn’t as docile as your animals.” The other hybrids look unconvinced.

“Jack seems to do very well being a lion hybrid,” Ray comments immediately. “He’s a top predator and I’m sure he’s suppressing dozens of instincts right now. You? Maybe only half of those instincts are what you care to hold back on.” Michael’s frown worsens.

“I’m not a monster, like him.” Gavin rolls his eyes.

“Jack’s not a monster, Michael.” To this, Michael glares at both Lads.

He accuses them, “Then who were the two idiots who were convinced he’d eat them this morning?” Both boys begin to whistle.

-

Jack frowns. “They thought I was going to eat them?”

Geoff scratches his head, loosening a few knots around his horns. He’s rather sheepish as he replies, “To be honest, I never told them what you do eat. I mean, we’ve been eating out for so long, I kinda assumed you eat more than just red meat. The boys weren’t so sure though.” Jack is silent for a moment, deeply pondering as his ears swivel around, brown eyes a lit with thought.

“Soy.”

“Huh?”

“I do eat soy,” Jack states, face serious. “I have soy in my dairy to supplement protein and additional nutrition my body can’t get from some foods. I can also eat a salad if I wanted to.” Geoff smirks, impressed.

“My Jack can eat salads? I’m so proud of you.” This remark only serves to make the lion frown.

"If I wanted to, asshole, doesn’t mean I will want to anytime soon. Now, what happened after I ate that fish?”

-

“Point of the matter is you were a jackass to him all the time during your feralism,” Ray says, uncaring of how Michael flops his legs over his to sprawl in his and Gavin’s laps. “You should apologize, even if it was your cat acting like an asshole on your behalf.”

Gavin twitters his agreement, observing, “You also sort of started this all when you suggested fish for breakfast. Geoff was enough of a schmuck to trust you, but..” Michael sighs.

“Yeah, I guess I should apologize to Geoff… And as long as Ryan doesn’t know about this, I should be in the clear.”

“Uh…” the Lads begin together, sharing identical looks of dread. Michael’s eyes slit and his ear  
go straight out. His fur and tail puff up.

“Oh god, you guys didn’t.”

Gavin offers up a sad smile as he answers, “Geoff did need some advice early on to separate you two fighting.”

“Fuck. I am so dead.”

-

Jack nods in agreement, rolling his aching shoulders. His bones pop from the sudden movement, tension draining out of his body with each stretch. “So we got into a fight and you broke us apart? That explains the pain in my side,” he states, cracking a sincere, gentle grin. Geoff chuckles.

“Yeah, sorry Jack. You hit the wall pretty bad but I was too concerned with splitting you two apart. You forgive me?” Jack snorts, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Of course I do. Sorry for being an idiot.” They share a light-hearted moment of sniggering, at least until Jack asks his next question. “So… where did the claw marks come from? Michael didn’t tear me up that badly during the fight, did he?”

To this Geoff clasps his hands, averting his gaze. His thumbs twiddle together. He looks less like an adult and more like a kid who was caught with his hand down his pants, addled on what to do next without giving himself away.

“It was more of a..reaction of Michael’s at a different time?” the goat offers lamely. Jack blinks. The fog that overcomes his blank face spells enough of how he doesn’t get what’s going on.

“What the fuck, Geoff?”

Geoff isn’t a very good liar. “You two had sex,” he blurts.

The blow is less than pleasant. Jack grimaces as his tail begins to thrash about.

“Christ.”

-

Gavin is patting Michael’s back as the other hyperventilates. “I’m gonna die. Ryan’s gonna gut me, Geoff’s gonna flay me and you two will have a nice throw rug for the office from my hide!” he screams. They wince as the cat yowls in fear, though Ray does his best to calm him.

“You know that’s not gonna happen!” Ray fusses, pushing the other lad into the pillows to calm down. “Ryan isn’t going to kill you, he’s already stated he’ll kill us all when the right time comes. You know, master mind psycho he is, he’s gotta be theatrical about it. Geoff won’t flay you because you were feral and you two banging was the least we all expected.” Michael hiccups, attempting-and failing-to take steadying breaths.

“Okay, so he won’t kill me,” he snaps. “But his boyfriend certainly will! Fucking lion is probably pissed now that he knows we banged!” Gavin shakes his head, sighing.

“For the last time Michael, Jack isn’t like that! He’s actually super nice, even when he was thinking like a lion!”

“Easy for you to say, you had no qualms about banging him!”

“Hey! I was right off my heat then, I couldn’t contain myself!”

“Sure, that’s what all horny limey bastards say!”

Knowing that a argument is brewing, Ray breaks between the squabbling with a loud, “ENOUGH.” The two break out of their bickering to stare awed at the rabbit that is growling. 

“Seriously you two, fighting isn’t going to help us out here. Michael.” The cat pauses.

“What?”

“Jack will not hurt you,” Ray tells him. “I promise, cross my heart and all that shit. If you just talk to the guy and not avoid him like the last few days he’s been here, you’ll like him. You’ll see he probably has nothing against you.”

The alley cat still rolls his eyes, spitting back, “Yeah, and when I’m in the hospital in the ICU, you mother fuckers can pay for my stay cause me and my insurance ain’t paying for shit.”

-

Geoff pets Jack’s stomach as the lion gets comfortable laying against him, head against his chest as the two sit among their pillow collection. “So, are you mad?” Geoff asks again. Jack shakes his head.

“Nah,” he replies. “It happens. Granted, it’s not the worst that’s happened to me. No one has ever topped my encounter with that Swedish linguist I slept with in high school.”

Geoff raises his head at that. ”What happened with them?”

Jack waves his hand, saying, “She was a one-time fling, just an exchange college student who didn’t care about screwing teenage boys. Anyway she had… eccentric tastes.” Geoff blinks.

“What does that-“

“Social etiquette forbids me from saying anything. I can definitely say it’s something neither of our cultures dare to think of.” Geoff blinks again, bemused.

“I… okay.”

The lion ‘mrrs’ as Geoff’s petting continues, stretching out the soreness in his limbs and feeling quite content. “As for Michael,” he adds, “I can forgive him for hitting me if he forgives me for what happened after. I mean, I’m more hurt by the fact I pretty much went down on him without his consent.” Geoff hums, fingers playing across Jack’s belly and running up his sides.

“You sure? He did start begging for your knot and everything in the end. I think if he really didn’t want to do it with you, he would have smacked you away.” Jack protests with another shake.

“Being a feral or being human during sex are completely different things,” he says quietly. “My lion was in control that time and so was his cat. The way I see it, we let our animals fuck each other in our bodies, no matter what our real wishes were. There was no consent between us, at least nothing we can remember agreeing on.”

A kiss lands on Jack’s head, getting him to look up at Geoff’s gentle looking face. “Geoff?”

“You’re a sweetheart, you know that? Any other Alpha wouldn’t give a shit but here you are, worried about Michael.” Jack grunts.

“That’s the way my momma raised me.” Geoff laughs.

“She raised you well.”

-

“Just talk to him,” Ray urges. “Apologize and get this off your chest.” Michael glowers.

“I don’t wanna though.”

Gavin gives a pointed glare. His feathers ruffle as he counters, “Well you can either apologize now or wait until Ryan gets home, when he forces you to. Or maybe Geoff will make you apologize instead.”

Michael’s face turns several shades whiter when the bird says this, recognition for the worst shutting him up.

He turns to the door, walking towards it with a mortified face. His boys, confused by the change in demeanor, question, “Michael?”

“I had an extremely extraordinary epiphany at this moment. I should go apologize. Let’s go.”

-

“So…what do you want to do? Leave it for later?” Jack shakes his head. As nice as the offer sounds, he understands this isn’t something that can wait.

He replies, “It’s better to get it done now. You said he was in the Lad Pad, right? I can apologize to him there.” Geoff nods but his frown remains. Jack notices. He’s confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing. What’s with the frown?” The ram waves him off.

“It’s nothing,” he insists, “just wondering how Michael is gonna take all this. He’s kinda a….” Jack pauses.

When Geoff holds out a little too long on choosing a word, Jack suggests, “…A prideful cat?” Geoff snorts.

“I was gonna say insufferable PMSing asshole but your take is nicer.”

Jack spits instinctively, his fur fluffing up as he regards the casualness of the Ram. “Do you ever take the time to be nice to your roommates?” he asks bluntly, a brow raised in questioning. 

“You’re kind of a dick.”

“You love dicks.”

“Yeah, I love dick, that’s part of being bisexual but not the main point here, Ramsey. You’re pretty rude to your friends. Why?”

Geoff shrugs. “I’ve come to understand the world is full of dicks, no matter what,” he responds simply. “I figure I can be a likable dick, especially among assholes like the housemates of WAFFLE-O.” Jack shakes his head.

“I fail to see how that’s good in any way.” The Ram only grins.

“Just wait, big guy. Soon enough, you’ll see what I mean. Anyway, gonna go apologize?”

“Right. I’ll do that now.”

-

All these talks are what leads up to the two feline gentlemen meeting up in the living room. Geoff flanks Jack’s right, Gavin and Ray taking up Michael’s rear and warily watching the younger cat. 

It’s a tense standoff, not unlike the fight hours before.

But each has their senses about them. Hopefully there won’t be a fight.

“Evening, Michael.”

“Jack.”

Apparently the last comment was written too soon, as the Jersey lad hisses the name, nothing  
but malice lacing his voice. Everyone goes on edge in an instant: Geoff locks his legs, head slightly lowering; Ray begins to bend, as if ready to bound out of the way; Gavin remains fairly calm but his fingers do clench, glowering at the back of Michael’s head. Jack is the one who stays impassive, his height dwarfing the other. It’s something that he can’t help and a factor that only makes Michael hiss louder.

“Michael,” he starts evenly. He doesn’t smile or frown at the irate boy, keeping his hands to his sides in perfect surrender. “Calm down. I’m not going to fight you.” The house cat still growls, crouching away from him. “I mean it Michael, I’m not looking for a fight here. Reel back Fangs McGee.”

The tone doesn’t deviate once from the slow lilt Jack uses, and it seems to work like a charm. Michael, inch by inch, begins to unlock his limbs from the fight-or-flight response. As he loosens up, the other do too, though their eyes still hold that instinctive caution reserved around predators.

“He hates you,” Michael answers, not bothering to wait for the inevitable question. “He-I don’t like Alphas and he knows that. I’m not so good with other cats and he knows that too.” He looks uneasily at Jack. “We don’t like you.”

Jack nods, face the picture of understanding. “It’s a legitimate reason,” he says. “We felines aren’t the most social of animals…well, save for us lions. We thrive on community much more than others hunters do.” He smiles gently.

“Michael, I get it. I’m not expecting you to like me at all.” He pauses, then says, “But I do want to apologize.” The air is suddenly awkward.

Ray and Gavin are in shock as Michael sizes up the other. “Apologize?” he echoes. Jack nods.

“What happened earlier today wasn’t cool,” he explains. “Neither of us were awake enough to stop our cats from doing…you know. I’d like to be the bigger man here-“

“You are the bigger man,” Michael butts in. Geoff slaps his arm.

“Michael!” the other warns. Somehow, the big cat is able to shrug it off with a roll of his eyes.

“Anyway,” he presses, unfettered, “I would like to say sorry first because I feel like it should never have happened. I shouldn’t have let my lion take the reins so easily and do what he did to you.” 

He bows to the other.

“I’m sorry,” he says.

While it seems a little ridiculous that the one who has been the victim of beatings and general dislike should have to apologize, the hurt Jack shows is sincere. He’s doing all the things that cats do when shamed, the flattened sideways ears and tail hung low. He’s doing all the things an Omega or Beta cat might do for a superior.

But not an Alpha-he shouldn’t be like that towards an Omega.

Michael hates it, he knows he does. Instead of being flattered, of accepting the apology and staying on good terms, Michael feels the force of his feline come out, tearing out like the force of a hurricane’s winds. His fist whips forward before he can haul it back, connecting with Jack’s shoulder. A glint of gold goes through Jack’s left eye, despite how vacant his gaze has become. 

Meanwhile, Michael’s are turning an amber-yellow.

The others are silent, frozen in horror as Michael roars, “Who the fuck do you think you are!?”

Jack stares at him.

It’s certainly a stalemate as Michael swears, “You fucking, asshole of an alpha!”

And the fist draws back once more.


End file.
